The Cupola 2020

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Christopher Newport u n i v e r s i t y

The

Cupola 2019–2020



The Cupola 2019-2020 Volume 14 The Undergraduate Research Journal of Christopher Newport University

1 Avenue of the Arts Newport News, VA 23606


The Cupola is the undergraduate research journal of Christopher Newport University. Publication of The Cupola is made possible by the generous support of the Douglas K. Gordon Endowed Fund. Papers published in The Cupola have undergone review by the Undergraduate and Graduate Research Council. The final product has been edited and compiled by the Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity. The Cupola is published in print and online at www.cnu.edu/research. Each student published in The Cupola is awarded a $100 stipend in recognition of their fine work; the top two accepted submissions are awarded $500 from the Douglas K. Gordon Endowed Fund. The Cupola (Newport News, Va. Print) ISSN 2688-5913 Cupola (Newport News, Va. Online) ISSN 2688-5921

Š2020 All rights belong to individual authors The Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Dr. David A. Salomon, Director Dr. Michaela Meyer, Academic Director 757.594.8586 cnu.edu/research interweb.cnu.edu/research  


A Note from the Director Welcome to the 2020 edition of The Cupola, Christopher Newport University’s undergraduate research journal. As the Director of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity, it is my pleasure to serve as the journal’s editor, establishing guidelines and facilitating the vetting process. In this strange and unusual year, given the global pandemic and the overdue worldwide protests against racial injustice, the OURCA was happy to have received a record number of submitted essays. You are holding the result of a rigorous vetting process in which at least two faculty members in the college of the paper’s subject discipline read and scored the work. That process provided us with the twenty finest examples of undergraduate research from the past year. Our top two essays, Douglas Gordon Award-winning pieces by Nicolette DeFrank and Rachel Locke, reflect the diversity and the complexity of research taking place among CNU’s undergraduates. DeFrank, a double-major in English and Political Science, is a 2020 graduate who has presented her research both nationally and internationally; her essay reexamines Nabokov’s Lolita in light of the #metoo movement. DeFrank will begin her study of the law this Fall at Washington and Lee. Locke is a rising junior majoring in History with a profound interest in the classical world; her research blends study of classical history and art with religion and culture. Locke will move into the role of OURCA Student Fellow this Fall. The Office of Undergraduate Research and Creativity is proud of these students who, with enthusiastic and skilled faculty mentorship, continue to produce insightful and meaningful work. The OURCA would like to thank the members of the 2019-2020 Undergraduate Research Committee: Co-chair Dr. Andria Timmer; Co-Chair Prof. Denise Gillman; Dr. John Thompson, Dr. Rocio Gordon, Dr. Robert Winder, Dr. Leslie Rollins, Dr. Olga Lipatova, Dr. Farideh D. Mohammadi, Dr. Hussam Timani, Ms. Mary Sellen, and Dr. Michaela Meyer. Additionally, we recognize and appreciate the great contribution made by a talented group of faculty readers: Dr. Elizabeth Kaufer Busch, Dr. Jana Adamitis, Dr. Kelly Rossum, Dr. Kyle Garton-Gundling, Dr. Joanna Eleftheriou, Dr. Nathan Harter, Dr. Angela Spranger, Dr. Andrew Kirkpatrick, Dr. Grace Godwin, Dr. Sarah Chace, Dr. Jessica Apolloni, Dr. Sarah Finley, Dr. Linda Manning, Dr. Crystal Shelton, Dr. Rebecca Wheeler, Dr. Jay Paul, Dr. Benjamin Redekop, Dr. Andrew Falk, Dr. James Allison, and Dr. Willy Donaldson. Thanks to Courtney Michel, Creative Services Manager of CNU’s Office of Communications and Public Relations, for her astonishing talent, patience, and artistry in designing the layout of The Cupola. Special thanks to Provost David Doughty, Vice Provost Geoffrey Klein, and OURCA administrative assistant Michaele Baux. Dr. David A. Salomon Director, Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity July 2020


Dr. Douglas K. Gordon Dr. Douglas K. Gordon taught at Christopher Newport College and then University for twenty-eight years. He arrived at Christopher Newport College in 1980 as Assistant Professor of Basic Studies. In 1982 he was promoted to Associate Professor of English and in 1988 to Professor of English. He became Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 2002 after serving a year as Associate Dean. As Dean, he chaired the Task Force on Curriculum and Academic Life that developed the Liberal Learning Core Curriculum, the only complete revision of the general education curriculum in the history of CNC/ CNU. Because of his commitment to professional development, he established CLAS Dean’s Office Grants (DOGS) that have resulted in at least 10 book manuscripts, proposals, chapters and revisions. Dr. Gordon held many leadership positions at the institution. He was president of the Faculty Advisory Committee (predecessor to the Faculty Senate) for two years, Chair of the Department of Basic Studies and the Department of English, and NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative. He founded Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society at CNU and was faculty advisor to Alpha Chi National Honor Society and Sigma Tau Delta International English Honor Society. He chaired the Football Feasibility Committee that led to the football program at CNU and served as master of ceremonies at Department of Music events like Holiday Happening and as a reader for the Classic Club’s dramatic readings. He was the “Liberal Learning Guy” for HR orientation of new employees and during admissions events. His scholarship is in the areas of dogs in literature, teaching writing and bluegrass and country music. Publication of The Cupola is largely made possible due to Dr. Gordon’s generous and continuous support of undergraduate research and creative activity.



Table of Contents Nicolette DeFrank “Lolita and Dolores: Reexamining Lolita in the Age of the ‘Me-Too’ Movement”

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Winner of the Douglas K. Gordon Cupola Award

Rachel Locke “Client Catalysts: Juba II and Cleopatra Selene as Propagators of Roman Cultural Exchange in North Africa”

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Daniel Berry “An Analysis of the Tonal and Textual Lullaby Conventions in Alban Berg’s Atonal Opera”

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Ashley Burgess “‘Perfecting’ the Human Race”

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Alyssa Cole, Kennedy Johnson, Margaret McPherson, Riley Redd, Mackenzie Regen, Sydney Shaw “‘We Post Pictures to Prove We Are Best Friends’: iGen Friendship Characteristics and Maintenance Strategies”

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Jannis Ernst “Drunk with Power: Anti-Alcohol Policy under the Nazis 1933-1945”

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Claire Flores “US Anti-Drug Failure and Terror Funding in Afghanistan”

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Danielle Forand “‘A Curse of Nonexistence’: Case Studies of Sexuality & Power in Post-Soviet Literature”

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Ashley Irving “Reentry for Parents: The Viewpoint of Practitioners”

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Winner of the Douglas K. Gordon Cupola Award

Hannah Jackson “Martin Heidegger and the Sacred Object”

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Kaylee D. Johnson “Perceptions of Criminal Recidivism in the Christopher Newport University Community”

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Megan McNutt “‘Light’ is Not a Synonym For ‘Safe’: Light Cigarettes and Public Health in America, 1964-1980”

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Rachel Morrison “Colonization Over Catholicism: Spanish Priorities in the Conquest of Mexico”

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Clara Page “The Devil’s Double: The Failed Individuation of Ivan Karamazov

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Moriah Poliakoff “Raising the Question of Being in Rousseau’s Emile”

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Dylan Pruitt “Influence of the Music of the Spheres Throughout the Renaissance Era”

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Hunter Smith “An Analysis of Decarbonization Efforts in Iceland and Finland”

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Caitlyn Snead and Dawson Brown “In Teachers We Trust: A Machine Learning Analysis of NYC Schools”

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Kelly Timlen “The Exploration of Resiliency, Emotional Regulation, and the Passage of Time as Potential Mediating Factors on the Impact of Latent Exposure to Adverse Childhood Experiences and Anxiety and Depression Symptoms in Early Adulthood”

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Benjamin Yung “An Econometric Analysis on the Decrease in Crime Since the 1990s”

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“Lolita and Dolores: Reexamining Lolita in the Age of the ‘Me-Too’ Movement” Nicolette DeFrank Winner of the Douglas K. Gordon Cupola Award Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Anna Teekell, Department of English

Abstract Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita, since its inception in the 1950s, has remained a controversial work to both literary critics and the public. The infamous narrator, Humbert Humbert, has proved to be the focus of contemporary scholarship, while the victim and the titular character of the novel, Dolores Haze, (or “Lolita”) remains largely absent from the literature. In the age of the “Me-Too” movement, which attempts to highlight the prevalence of sexual violence and shift the focus towards the survivor rather than the oppressor, it is necessary to reexamine the text of Lolita. By reading Dolores Haze as an example of a traumatized survivor, and an entirely separate entity from “Lolita”, the literary community can move past the study of the novel as an aesthetically pleasing manifesto of a pedophile, and rather view the text as a case study about the trauma of the survivor.


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The “Me-Too” movement radically altered views of sexual assault and gendered violence, exposing a dangerous trend which pervaded Hollywood, politics, and society as a whole. Although this was a recent development for the fight against sexual violence, the reality of rape and objectification dates back to the beginning of time. Social movements like feminism are constantly evolving: shifting to address immediate issues and retreating to correct outdated ideologies, even within the movement itself. Within the past several years, feminism has drastically changed, as the “Me-Too” movement forced feminists and society to reevaluate the nature of sexual assault. The disturbing prevalence of sexual violence has resulted in reexaminations of media, pornography, power, and the patriarchy. Similarly, this cultural shift calls for the reevaluation of art, literature, music, and other media which discuss and influence issues of sexual violence and assault. Nabokov’s Lolita falls firmly within this category. The story centers on a pedophile who kidnaps and rapes a 12-year-old girl named Dolores, erasing her identity and replacing it with the imagined and sexualized person “Lolita.” Today, this thematic representation of objectification is shockingly relevant and is in dire need of reassessment in light of the “Me-Too” movement and contemporary feminist criticism. Lolita’s application to feminism has long been debated, interpreted, and reinterpreted, resulting in contradictory understandings of the text which often demonize Dolores Haze in light of her sexual actions. Like feminist ideologies, scholarship on Lolita continues to evolve. Since its early reception, feminist interpretations (led by scholars such as Linda Kauffman) have vindicated Dolores, and evolved to view her as a survivor rather than a harlot. However, the existing conversation continues to focus on the simultaneously charming yet brutal nature of the narrator (Humbert Humbert) rather than the psychological breakdown of a 12-year-old girl. Contemporary literature rightly recognizes Humbert Humbert’s role as the antagonist, yet scholarship continues to focus on the oppressor rather than the victim. Because of his role as the narrator, it is difficult to ignore Humbert Humbert’s pervasive involvement in the story, yet so much of the current literature seeks to explain his perversion, his use of literature, and his unreliability as a narrator, resulting in the absence of Dolores from scholarship. The irony of this is startling, considering that Humbert Humbert’s perverse goal as the narrator is to erase Dolores and immortalize her as Lolita, and scholarship has largely allowed him to do this. However, in light of the modern cultural movement surrounding sexual violence which shifts the emphasis onto the well-being of the survivor, rather than the brutality of the perpetrator, there needs to be a shift in how Lolita is read. Thus, the focus should be on Dolores Haze rather than Humbert Humbert. This is not an easy task, especially when considering that in order to do so the reader must look past unreliable narration and decades of scholarship which chooses to focus on the oppressor. To accomplish this, I will begin by examining the nature of unreliable narration, both generally and in the context of Lolita. Additionally, the evolution of the scholarship and its current status will be taken into account as well. Once these important contextual factors are established, Dolores can be looked at more objectively through the lens of close reading. This is done not to undo the decades of scholarship that analyzed Humbert Humbert, rather the purpose is to expand the critical narrative to include Dolores as well. Terminology Before I continue any further, I would like to clarify the exact language I will be using throughout the duration of this research. In past literature on this topic, authors and experts tend to use the terms “Lolita” and “Dolores” interchangeably. While neither name is her given name (Humbert Humbert establishes that all the names are aliases), Lolita is a private nickname used only by her abuser. Throughout the novel, Dolores never introduces herself as Lolita and other major characters (such as Dolores’ mother) choose to use other names as well. Susan Elizabeth Sweeney, in her article “Lolita, I Presume,” discusses how Dolores never once refers to herself


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as Lolita, instead choosing to go by other nicknames, such as Dolly (Sweeney 1). Despite this, scholarship has historically referred to Dolores as Lolita. This subtle choice reinforces the idea that Dolores’ identity as a person and as a character is synonymous with her sexualized and fictional identity as Lolita. Feminist critics fall into this pitfall as well, with authors such as Kaufman (who pioneered feminist criticism in Lolita) using the titles interchangeably (Connolly 152). Even within an article titled “Lolita Misrepresented, Lolita Reclaimed: Disclosing the Doubles” the author asks “Why isn’t the definition of ‘Lolita’ ‘a molested adolescent girl’ instead of a ‘seductive’ one?” (Patnoe 83). Even so, by asking this question, Patnoe fails to acknowledge that Lolita does not really exist. Dolores is an abused child; Lolita is indeed seductive, but she is a figment of a pedophile’s imagination. Sweeney notes that while scholarship is moving away from this misidentification, it appears that Humbert Humbert was successful in cementing Dolores’ identity as Lolita even after her escape and death. Perhaps one of the simplest ways to dismantle this harmful idea is simply to maintain the distinction between Dolores and Lolita when discussing them (Sweeney 1). For this reason, I will exclusively refer to Dolores as Dolores, and only use the term Lolita when referring to Humbert Humbert’s contrived, sexualized, and imagined version of her. Unreliable Narration There is a plethora of literature concerning unreliable narration in Lolita. And while my research attempts to move beyond this, understanding unreliable narration is imperative to examining the text with Dolores in mind. In order to formulate an accurate assessment of her character, scholarship must look past unreliable narration. John Wasmuth, when discussing this technique in Lolita, defines unreliable narration as “when a narrator expresses values and perceptions that strikingly diverge from those of the implied author, he is deemed unreliable. Moreover, once a narrator is deemed unreliable, then this unreliability will be consistent throughout the work” (Wasmuth 2). The implied author can be a confusing concept, as the implied author is separate from both the author and the narrator, essentially acting as a construct which shapes the values of the text. In the context of Lolita, the implied author would be opposed to pedophilia, but the narrator is not, this conflict creates the unreliable narrator. Like any other literary technique, unreliable narration can serve a variety of purposes in a text, including, “satire, psychological analysis, ethical questioning” (D’hoker & Martens 1). In the case of Lolita unreliable narration is a conduit for scrutinizing the values of modern society and the dangers of certain sexual activities. The novel is an unusually complex case of this literary tool. Because of Nabokov’s adept use of unreliable narration, the book remained misinterpreted for years, with the public believing that the novel condoned pedophilic fetishization. Wayne C. Booth touched on an unreliable narrator’s role in ethics writing, “Can we really be surprised that readers have overlooked ironies in Lolita when Humbert Humbert is given full and unlimited control of the rhetorical resources?” (qtd. D’hoker & Martens 7) Humbert’s unreliability is central to the story and the expression of his values, an understanding of his fallible narration is essential to understanding Dolores in Lolita. Thus, when reading Lolita, the reader must always be conscious of the implied author and the conflict innate within the prose. This becomes increasingly clear with close readings of the text. Scholarship which addresses unreliable narration is both relevant and indispensable to an accurate and nuanced interpretation of the novel; however, the discussion should utilize this information to examine different elements of the text. The Evolution of Lolita Interpretations Lolita is a novel that has evaded interpretation by readers and scholarship. Centered on a pedophile’s relationship with a young girl, it has been hailed as lewd, pornographic, and


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immoral. Humbert Humbert, the twisted narrator, is a self-confessed pedophile who fetishizes young girls who he refers to as “nymphets.” Haunted by his first love’s demise, he recreates her in the form of Dolores Haze, a 12-year-old girl. After her mother’s death, he plays the role of both her father and rapist as he takes her on a road trip across the United States in an effort to evade suspicion. However, after several years, Dolores Haze escapes only to find herself abused by another man who attempts to force her into pornography. The novel ends with Humbert’s confession that in an effort to ease his own conscience, he has murdered Clare Quilty, Dolores’ other rapist and he himself has died in a mental institution. The interpretation of the novel has always been debated. Even Nabokov admitted that the unreliable narration proved too much for some, leading the mass populace to believe that this young girl was bratty, seductive, and sensual, with some critics at the time arguing that she deserved her fate (Connolly 144). Critical reception focused, instead, on the aesthetic and gender-bending nature of the novel, analyzing it as an epic, a romance, a comedy, and a parody (Connolly 146). In the Late 20th century, feminist interpretations of Lolita began to emerge. Linda Kauffman pioneered this theory, revealing the abused child under the seductive facade, and shedding light on the overlooked titular character within the novel. Competing feminist theories quickly countered her points, arguing that by even taking part in the aesthetics of the unreliable narration, readers were feeding into a sexist and harmful fantasy which cannot be escaped. This developing conversation is valuable, however, as even Kaufman and other contemporary feminist theorists make potentially grave mistakes when discussing Lolita and Dolores (Connolly 183-184). Lolita and the Me-Too Movement The literary interpretations of the text have evolved over time, developing into a more progressive reading of the novel. Fortunately, a similar shift has occurred recently in society as well. The “Me-Too” movement, while criticized for its neoliberal perspective on feminism, has highlighted sexual violence, particularly against young women. While the original article on the topic published in the New York Times focused on sexual assault and harassment in Hollywood, the Me-Too movement has grown to discuss a much larger trend of sexual violence among society as a whole (Boyle 1-3). Partially spurred by this larger social movement, feminists have made careful observations about the terminology used in assault cases. With the unfortunate history of victim blaming in sexual assault cases, in recent years many have opted to distance themselves from the term, instead calling themselves “survivors.” Kate Harding, a feminist critic, discusses the nuances of the terminology, as there has been a push from certain feminists to reclaim the term victim, believing that the word victim may illustrate the long, arduous, and incomplete nature of healing after a rape or assault (Harding). These diverse opinions are united in the fact that the focus is not on the rapist or the oppressor. Instead, the conversation is about coping, healing, and justice for the victims or survivors (whichever term an individual chooses to claim). Dolores and “Lolita” Lolita is the titular character of the novel. The title itself prepares the reader for Lolita rather than Dolores. “Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins” further reinforce this, framing Lolita as a character and describing her as a love interest and sexual being within the first lines of the text (Nabokov 9). Lolita is referenced throughout the first chapters of the novel, but Dolores herself never makes an appearance. By the time she appears, the reader has already been prepped to view Lolita and Dolores as interchangeable characters, only making it easier for the erasure of Dolores throughout the rest of the novel. The first scenes that include Dolores do not feature any character study of her intelligence, her emotions, or even her words. Her interactions are mundane as she discusses breakfast, magazines, and argues with her mother. Instead, the first interactions the reader has


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with Dolores are saturated with verbose physical descriptions that border on the vulgar. One passage in particular exemplifies this. Only a short time after she is introduced, Humbert Humbert lures Dolores onto his lap and begins to masturbate while she unknowingly sings a song to herself. He begins the scene by literally establishing himself as the main character writing “Main character: Humbert the Hummer… Props: old, candy-striped davenport, magazines, phonograph, Mexican knick- knacks (the late Mr. Harold E. Haze- — God bless the good man — had engendered my darling at the siesta hour in a blue- washed room, on a honeymoon trip to Vera Cruz, and mementoes, among these Dolores, were all over the place)” (Nabokov 57). Here, Dolores is immediately established as a prop, but it is notable that Humbert refers to her by her real name. He continues by describing her clothing in great detail before continuing to describe her every movement and the contours of her physical figure. Now on his lap, Humbert Humbert continues his gratuitous description of her innocent actions, but it is once again notable that he does not call her Lolita until he begins the sexual act, slowing down for maximum enjoyment and says “Lolita had been safely solipsized” (Nabokov 60). This sentence introduces the marriage of two important concepts. First, he calls Dolores Lolita, but perhaps more interesting is his use of the word “solipsized.” The word solipsized does not exist in the English language. It is a reference to solipsism, a philosophy that the self is the only form of existence. To say that Dolores was “solipsized” indicates that she is being incorporated into Humbert’s self, and thus she exists. In other words, this is the official transition from Dolores into Lolita, further emphasized by the fact that this is the first time he refers to her as Lolita in the chapter. He is stating (although in an obfuscated way) that Dolores is no longer a person, she is now Lolita and he can do with her as he wishes. Of course, in reality, Humbert Humbert objectified Dolores before he had even met her. Any young girl is a possible nymphet. But this deliberate objectification remains notable as it is a telltale sign of unreliable narration. Because the focus of the narrative is always on Dolores’ physical appearance, her words, commentary, and emotions slip through the cracks. However, it is important to note that Dolores’ worth should not be based on her contributions to the conversation and perhaps it is not productive to read into her discussions about bacon, breakfast, and summer vacation. The words of a 12-year-old need not be profound or necessary to the narrative, and it is enough to know that Dolores was a child who spent her time, as all children do, consumed with the mundane aspects of everyday life. As the narrative continues, Dolores’ words (and the absence of her words) become increasingly important, as she if forced to grow up rapidly due to her circumstances. The reader is offered another glimpse of Dolores after her kidnapping, when Humbert Humbert once again shows his lack of empathy and understanding. Indignant and frustrated with her stepfather’s behavior, Dolores insists they call her mother, to which Humbert Humbert responds simply, “your mother is dead” (141). The chapter abruptly ends. The next one begins with a list of items he buys for her: cola, candy, and chewing gum. He notes that although they had separate rooms, she entered his crying because “she had absolutely nowhere else to go” (Nabokov 142). These interactions do not provide a concrete perspective because of the unreliable narration, but it is notable that Humbert Humbert does not discuss her reaction initially, nor does he believe that Dolores actively seeks his company for comfort. Even Humbert recognizes that she feels lost, trapped, and desperate, despite all of his gifts. In the final chapters of the novel, Humbert Humbert comes to fully realize the atrocities he has committed against a child. He spends several passages simultaneously apologizing and justifying his actions, in the closest the reader experiences to true remorse, and for the first time, recognizes Dolores Haze as a person outside of the nymphet he has imagined her to be. He describes a moment when he walks Dolores and a friend to a play. In a response to mundane comment about a play, Dolores says “You know, what’s so dreadful about dying is that you are


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completely on your own” (Nabokov 284). Dolores is treated much like an object throughout the text, but it becomes clear that her mind is wandering and beginning to process some of the realities of life. Dolores has already been exposed to death (that of her parents), but Humbert Humbert takes little time to help her process these traumas. Because of this, we as the reader, are forced to look at isolated quotes like this. Dolores, despite the unusual and twisted nature she was forced to cope with death, has still spent time ruminating on the issue, coming to her own conclusions. Somewhat shocked by Dolores’ words, Humbert notes that for the first time that “that quite possibly...there was a garden and a twilight, and a palace gate—dime and adorable regions which happened to be lucidly and absolutely forbidden to me” (284). This would appear to highlight his progression as a character, as he begins to conceptualize Dolores as a person outside of his perception of her. However, this apparent development is interceded between Humber referring to Dolores as “my Lolita” and “my darling” (284). These reductive phrases indicate that Humbert Humbert does not truly understand the consequences of his actions. He begins her quote by saying “my Lolita remarked” this statement further cements his lack of understanding. His possessive statement of marking her as “his” indicates that he still does not view her as an autonomous individual outside of his understanding and control. Furthermore, he calls her Lolita. This nickname is inherently degrading, as Lolita is not Dolores’ name. “Lolita” is a sex object who exists to satiate Humbert’s need for a nymphet. By prefacing her statement with this name, he neglects the fact that she is Dolores, not an object for consumption. Following his realization that she has ideas and observations fully beyond his understanding, he calls her “my darling.” Once again, this possessive term negates the fact that she is not consensually participating in the relationship. The addition of another pet name “darling” also fetishizes her and overlooks the obvious: that she is an unwilling participant in a romantic relationship that only exists in his mind. Even as he tries to repent, his word use indicates that he lacks the full understanding and repercussions of his actions. In the following paragraph, this trend continues. He compares her to Annabel, his childhood sweetheart, writing “I and Anabel, Lolita and a sublime, purified, analyzed, defied Harold Haze…” (284). This comparison, and the invocation of her twisted nickname “Lolita” once again depersonalizes her and reduces her to an identity that is not truly her own. Finally, he concludes the paragraph with the lament “oh my poor, bruised child” (284). He acknowledges the abuse and harm in this statement, with the term “bruised” and accepts her innocence by calling her a “child” instead of a nymphet. But still, his possessive word choice indicates that she is his, not a person all her own. Humbert Humbert comes to realize the horrors of his sexual abuse of Dolores, but within the same chapter he also realizes another way he wronged her: by depriving her of a father figure. He recalls a time while he allowed one of Dolores’ friends, Avis, over to their house. First, he describes Dolores’ smile with visitors, “a dreamy, sweet, radiance of all of her features… so beautiful, so endearing” (Nabokov, 285). Throughout the novel, Dolores aspired to be an actress, and Humbert repeatedly praises her ability to appear happy and charming, no matter the circumstances. He describes it, coarsely, as “an ancient rite of welcome—hospitable prostitution.” (Nabokov 285). Dolores continues to smile for her friend and her friend’s family, until she takes note of the tender, casual, and affectionate relationship that her friend has with her father. Humbert notes, “Suddenly, as Avis clung to her father’s neck and ear while, with a casual arm, the man enveloped his lumpy and large offspring, I saw Lolita’s smile lose all its light and become a frozen little shadow of itself.” (Nabokov 287). Dolores, despite the fact that her own father died when she was young, is fully aware of what a father/daughter relationship should be. These small moments indicate that Dolores realizes how her own relationship with her step-father is perverse and wrong. She longs for something more, although as Humbert explains “Lolita had nothing” (Nabokov 287).


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These passages exemplify the contradictory narrative that pervades the text as a whole. Humbert Humbert is obviously remorseful to some extent, but he is unable to fully comprehend the extent of the harm he has caused because he still implicitly views Dolores as Lolita. His innate inability to separate her identity from his perception of her exemplifies his futile attempts at repentance. This theme is pervasive throughout every passage of the text, and it is imperative for the reader to recognize and address this issue, pushing past the romanticized and aesthetic use of language to regard Dolores as a real human girl, rather than adhering to the twisted misnomer “Lolita.” Because of the unreliable narration, the reader is rarely exposed to Dolores’ voice, instead, she is filtered through Humbert’s nymphet lens. There are glimpses of her voice; however, and one comes in the form of a letter she writes to Humbert years after she has run away. This is the only time where the reader is exposed to Dolores’ words without Humbert’s verbose description disguising her voice. “Dear Dad” she begins, before explaining that she is now married, pregnant and desperately in need of money so she and her husband can begin a new life. She recognizes the strange nature of the letter considering the circumstances of how she left, writing, “Pardon me for withholding our home address, but you may still be mad at me, and Dick must not know” (Nabokov 266). She calls Humbert “dad” once more before she concludes “Write please. I have gone through much sadness and hardship. Yours expecting, Dolly (Mrs. Richard F. Schiller)” (Nabokov 266). The letter is a pivotal point in the narrative, as it brings Humbert and Dolores back together one last time, but it also introduces the reader to several important things about Dolores. Her casual use of the word “dad” shows that Dolores has not yet fully acknowledged the twisted nuances that comprised her relationship with Humbert Humbert. Despite this, she is aware of the risks involved by asking her estranged step-father for money. She withholds her address because she is aware of Humbert’s possibly erratic behavior, and despite her need for funds, she is not willing to sacrifice her autonomy and her future. Additionally, she speaks hopefully of the future, noting how she expects her baby to arrive just before Christmas and describing her future with her new husband, Dick, as “grand.” Despite this new tone of hope and anticipation for her new life, the letter reminds Humbert of the pain she experienced in her past life. Dolores ends the letter with poignant line where, with her own words and in her own voice, she acknowledges the pain she endured throughout her childhood. Equally important though, is her signature. Here she indicates her preferred name “Dolly” and the new name she has acquired through her marriage: “Mrs. Richard F. Schiller” (Nabokov 266). By signing her married name, Dolores now claims a new role as a wife and woman, independent of her past. The letter gives insight to Dolores’ turbulent state of mind, she is aware of the toxic role Humbert played in her life, but she is unable to fully comprehend the extent of his abuse. Although her voice is frequently absent throughout the novel, in these scenes the reader can discern her identity as entirely distinct from that of the seductive “Lolita.” The reader’s last look at Dolores comes after the letter, when Humbert Humbert comes to give her the money her and her husband so desperately need. Humbert Humbert begins with a simple and non-sexual description of Dolores, “Couple inches taller. Pink-rimmed glasses. New, heaped-up hairdo, new ears” (269). After he sees her, he remarks to himself “the moment, the death I had kept conjuring up for three years was a simple as a bit of dry wood. She was frankly and hugely pregnant.” (269). Because Dolores is pregnant, it becomes more difficult for Humbert to sexualize her, and thus his objectified version of her is put into question, which he describes as a “death.” He calls her Dolly Schiller, a noticeable shift from the typical “Lolita” and the many other titles he applies to her throughout the duration of the novel. Dolly is a chosen name, a name that her friends use, not a sexual misnomer. He continues to call her this throughout the chapter, although shadows of his former objectification continue to surface, especially when he describes her, calling her “Botticelli’s russet Venus” (270).


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The next few pages reinforce the fact that Humbert Humbert does not truly have a grasp on Dolores’ needs or desires as a person. He does not inquire about her new husband or her unborn child, instead he fixates on the man who lured Dolores away from Humbert three years before. When she is reluctant to say his name, Humbert threatens to withhold money that Dolores and her family desperately need. He is constantly defining her and her worth in terms of her sexual viability to both himself and other men. Finally, she relents and tells Humbert about the man she ran away with: Clare Quilty, or Cue, as she calls him. She differentiates him from any other man that she had known, including Humbert and her current husband. She pointedly and vaguely describes the reason she left: “But it was all drink and drugs. And, of course, he was a complete freak in sex matters, and his friends were his slaves… weird filthy, fancy things.” Next comes a rare example in the novel where Humbert acknowledges Dolores’ sadness (perhaps because it was not directed at him) as she cries out at the memory of Quilty’s abuses. “It is of no importance now… I said no” (Nabokov 276-277). Despite her acknowledgement of his behavior and the way it made her feel, Dolores defends Cue, “He was not a hog. He was a great guy in many respects” (Nabokov 276). She similarly absolves Humbert, saying that he was a good father, and even apologizes for being unfaithful during the course of their “relationship.” She indicates that she never told her husband about her relationship with her stepfather or with Quilty. It appears that she is unwilling or unable to truly come to terms with her experiences. However, despite this, Dolores displays her strength and autonomy multiple times throughout the chapter. Although her experiences with Quilty are not explicitly detailed, she exercises her autonomy by leaving Cue when it becomes clear that he will continue to coerce her into pornography. Humbert Humbert asks her to run away with him once again, she firmly declines, choosing to stay with her current husband saying “no, honey” (Nabokov 280). Humbert notes that she had never called him by this pet name before. He asks again and she once again declines, sending her stepfather away as she embraces her new life. Humbert endlessly attempts to justify his behavior throughout the novel. Each moment where he begins to repent, it is tempered by selfish notions and mentions of Lolita. Towards the end of the novel, he exclaims “I loved you. I was a pentapod monster, but I loved you. I was despicable and brutal, and turpid, and everything, mais je t’aimais, je t’aimais! And there were times when I knew how you felt, and it was hell to know it, my little one. Lolita girl, brave Dolly Schiller” (Nabokov 285). His choice of names here is fascinating, first, he calls Dolores “Lolita” minimizing her even in the face of acknowledging her pain, but then he reverts back to her real name, he preferred name, when he compliments her and calls her brave. The fact that he used the name she chooses to call herself is important, as Dolores signed her previous letter to Humbert as Dolly and invoked her married name “Schiller.” Dolly Schiller is a grown woman, a wife and expecting mother, an individual separate from Humbert Humbert’s influence. “Lolita” is seductive, demonic, a nymphet is Humbert’s mind, but Humbert finally acknowledges Dolly Schiller as “brave.” This realization is, of course, too little too late, and at its best, an incomplete realization of the pain he has caused. Interestingly, this is perhaps the first scene where the reader sees Dolores happy. In fact, this is one of the first things that Humbert notes about her when he enters and one of the last things he remembers when he leaves. When she calls her husband in to meet Humbert Humbert, he notices a change in her voice “a resounding, violent voice that struck me as totally strange, and new, and cheerful…” (Nabokov 273). She tells Humbert how happy she is with her husband, and as Humbert Humbert drives away, he hears her calling to her spouse once again in her new and surprising “cheerful” and “vibrant” voice (Nabokov 273). The Dolores pictured in this chapter has not only found her autonomy, she has found a healthy, and consensual relationship. While the marriage is not perfect, Dolores effectively escapes a cycle of abusive relationships, further illustrating her growth.


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Dolores and Literature In many ways, Dolores falls into the negative tropes of women in literature. She is punished throughout the novel, before she is even introduced. It can be argued that she is never given a fully developed identity. Nabokov kills her character. Although she does not die violently, her death through childbirth is emblematic of a stereotypically noble death for a woman, as if she redeems her sexual sins through marriage and childbirth. Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar, in their groundbreaking book on feminist literature “The Madwoman in the Attic” discuss how female characters are often characterized as Lilith, a female demon who embodies evil. Lilith, according to mythology, was the original “woman” created by God. However, she chooses not to submit to men and retaliates against the natural order by harming children and was replaced by the Biblical Eve (Gubar 35). She is now regarded as a demon who terrorizes the innocent, particularly children. It is hard to neglect the direct connection to Lolita here, as Humbert Humbert directly compares nymphets to Lilith, exclaiming “Humbert was perfectly capable of intercourse with Eve, but it was Lilith he longed for” (Nabokov 20). He also repeatedly calls Dolores demonic and supernatural, drawing indirect connections to the demon Lilith. Lilith violates the natural order, as do nymphets (and Humbert’s twisted version of Lolita). Dolores resists this by submitting to a man (through marriage) and having a child. However, she dies in childbirth and gives birth to a stillborn child, leaving her husband a widower. Through a feminist perspective, Dolores attempts to escape her role as Lilith and succeeds at redeeming herself but dies in the process. Instead, she is immortalized as Lolita, rather than Dolores, through Humbert’s text, as he writes describing their last meeting “my American sweet immortal dead love; for she is dead and immortal if you are reading this.” (Nabokov 255) Because of his unreliable narration, he preserves Lolita (and Lilith) rather than Dolores. The last words of the novel are a haunting reminder of this, “this is the only immortality that you and I may share, my Lolita” (Nabokov 309). These words have proved true, as today the word “Lolita” is a colloquial term for a young seductress who resembles Lilith far more than Dolores. Traditional literary analysis renders Dolores a failed female character. She is beaten, demonized, and abused until she finally regains some semblance of virtue by adhering to a traditional set of female ideals. She never fully condemns Humbert Humbert, neither does she wholly condemn Quilty. Instead, she acknowledges each man’s “good” qualities and simply says that she does not agree with certain actions they take. She still calls Humbert “dad” despite the fact he was her rapist. To the modern eye, it may appear that these faults render Dolores emotionally stunted and underdeveloped in the scope of the novel. In this way, Dolores is conventional and forgettable as a female literary character. Perhaps the literature is justified in overlooking her for the sake of a far more dynamic and developed character: Humbert. However, literary interpretations can be incomplete. They do not always tell the whole story, nor do they always encapsulate the nuance and contours of modern life. Looking at Dolores now, as a survivor of assault rather than a literary trope, Dolores is resilient. She is an individual marred by tragedy: the death of her parents, kidnapping, assault and years of grooming and abuse. Her character arc continues as she enters another abusive relationship with another abusive man. However, her story does not end there. She develops the ability to say no and exercise her autonomy in ways she could not before. Instead of being pressured into pornography, Dolores leaves. Then she finds a husband who loves her and is willing to build a traditional life with her based on consensual relations (both emotional and physical). She is certainly imperfect, she internalizes guilt and excuses her abusers; however, she lived in a time where it was difficult for women to seek help to process the complex emotions that accompany sexual violence. The ways in which she dealt and coped with abuse were flawed, but many survivors and victims today could say the same. The very same qualities that make Dolores a conventional female character make her a compelling survivor. Her innocence, naivety, and common attributes are precisely what make


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Humbert’s crimes against her so truly depraved. Modern science has long known that sexual assault can be a traumatic and life changing event, and many of Dolores’ actions reflect this. Some examples of this are latent within the text as Patnoe notes, “Nabokov’s Lola experiences great pain because of Humbert’s treatment of her, which we see in her crying every night after she thinks Humbert is asleep, in the scratches she leaves on Humbert’s neck while resisting sex with him, and in her escape from him and the territory of his treatment” (82). Science has long speculated on the impact of sexual assault on the psyche, and recent developments show that childhood sexual assault can alter the brain chemistry of individuals, leading to symptoms of PTSD as well as other disorders (Egan 103). Suzanne Egan examines contemporary data on sexual assault through a feminist lens; she writes “the positioning of adult sexual victimization as a symptom or consequence of prior childhood sexual trauma promotes an individualized response to the question of ‘what sexual assault is’. It renders less visible the dynamics and concepts of gender, power and structural inequality and leaves normative and naturalized concepts of sexuality and sexual development unexamined” (Egan 103). This description is disturbingly reminiscent of Dolores’ experience. Even though she was able to participate in an adult consensual relationship, she was unable to conceive of herself as an individual who had been abused and assaulted. She lacks a healthy understanding of Humbert’s role as a father and Quilty as a partner. It appears that sexual assault has marred her understanding of assault to the point where it has become the norm. Dolores is not only a survivor of sexual assault; her trauma begins before the novel with the death of her father and continues to pervade each page. Analyzing her character through this lens allows for a human and psychological view of her rather than examining her character as a literary trope. Conclusion Perhaps, by condemning the text as an ode to pedophilia, or an aesthetic take on an abuser, the literary community is separating itself from a powerful female figure. However, this perspective was introduced before, even prior to Humbert Humbert’s famous opening lines, “Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins” (Nabokov 9). Dolores first appears several pages earlier, free of the constraints of unreliable narration, but scholarship is often so focused on Humbert Humbert’s narrative that the forward is ignored. The foreword of the novel is a fictional frame story penned by John Ray Jr., Ph. D. Although he too is fictional, the foreword represents the only narrative that the reader can trust, as John Ray Jr, introduces characters, alludes to their real-life identities, and reinforces the novel as a moral tale. But he does more than provide context, he introduces Dolores. The first time he refers to her is not by name, instead he simply refers to her as the “heroine” of the novel. He, a more objective observer, recognizes Dolores as not only a real person, but her role as the true protagonist of the story. He chooses not to call her Lolita, instead describing her using her married name, the name she herself uses to sign her letter to Humbert. John Ray Jr. begins, “For the benefit of old-fashioned readers who wish to follow the destinies of the ‘real’ people behind the ‘true’ story, a few details may be given... ‘Mrs. Richard F. Schiller’ died in childbed, giving birth to a stillborn girl, on Christmas day 1952” (Nabokov 4). Before Humbert has the opportunity to corrupt the reader’s mind with his unreliable narration, John Ray Jr. tells the reader that Dolores is already dead. But within this foreword, Dolores is cemented as a real person, a person who lived and died, before she is reduced to Lolita in Humbert’s portion of the text. Scholarship spends so much time focusing on Humbert Humbert’s narrative that is has largely neglected the reliable narrative presented in the foreward. The fictional author of the forward was able to successfully elucidate the real role of Dolores in the story—a flawed heroine struggling against a “panting maniac” (6). The foreword is incredibly powerful, and John Ray Jr.’s careful use of names indicates that he recognized the importance of naming. This four-page foreword, only serving as the frame story for the novel, gives Dolores


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autonomy, albeit in a subtle way. Although Nabokov’s original intentions are difficult to decipher, scholarship now has the opportunity to expand on the ideas presented in the foreword, while incorporating modern data on psychology, trauma and contemporary social issues. Dolores as a person is fractured and incomplete, struggling to find her place in a society that has harmed her. For this very reason, she fails as a literary trope but succeeds as an accurate and compelling depiction of someone marred by sexual assault and emotional abuse. Despite the fact that her character was conceptualized and penned over 50 years ago, her reaction to abuse are consistent with contemporary data and views of sexual assault. The literary community, by highlighting Humbert Humbert and dismissing Dolores as a partially developed female character, only contributes to her objectification. In the age of “Me-Too,” perhaps it is time to reclaim Dolores as an accurately flawed, imperfect, and damaged vision of a survivor. She is imperfect, but all the more inspiring because of it. The author of the foreword recognized Dolores as the heroine. This powerful moment shows Dolores has always been a survivor, a heroine, and an inspiration, and in the age of the “Me-Too” movement, it is time that the literary community recognized this as well.

Works Cited Boyle, Karen. “#MeToo, Weinstein and Feminism. In: #MeToo, Weinstein and Feminism.” Palgrave Pivot, Cham. 2019. 1-20. Connolly, Jullian. “Lolita’s Afterlife: Critical and Cultural Responses.” A Reader’s Guide to Nabokov’s “Lolita”, by Julian Connolly, Academic Studies Press, Brighton, MA, 2009, pp. 141–174. Egan, Suzanne. “Sexual Assault as Trauma: a Foucauldian Examination of Knowledge Practices in the Field of Sexual Assault Service Provision.” Feminist Review, no. 112, 2016, pp. 95–112. D’hoker, E. & Martens, G. Narrative Unreliability in the Twentieth-Century First-Person Novel. Berlin, Germany. 2008. Print. Gilbert, Sandra M. The Madwoman in the Attic: the Woman Writer and the Nineteenth-Century Literary Imagination. New Haven :Yale University Press, 1979. Print. Harding, Kate. “I’ve Been Told I’m a Survivor, Not a Victim. But What’s Wrong With Being a Victim?” Time, 2020. Nabokov, Vladimir. Lolita. New York. Random House, Inc. 1955. Print. Patnoe, Elizabeth. “Lolita Misrepresented, Lolita Reclaimed: Disclosing the Doubles.” College Literature, vol. 22, no. 2, 1995, pp. 81–104. Sweeney, Susan E. “Lolita, I Presume; On a Character Titled Lolita.” Miranda, no. 3, 2013, doi: 10.4000/Miranda.1479. Wasmuth, John. “Unreliable Narration in Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita.” Lund University. 2009. Print.


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About the Author Nicolette DeFrank is a member of the Christopher Newport Class of 2020, with a double major in English and Political Science and a minor in Leadership Studies. An active member of campus life, Nicolette worked in the Pre-Law office and served as an officer within her Sorority, Delta Gamma. After graduation, she plans to pursue a Juris Doctorate degree at Washington and Lee School of Law, and one day hopes to work as a legal advocate for sexual assault and domestic violence survivors. Over the course of her collegiate career, Nicolette has served as a Summer Scholar, a Ferguson Fellow, and has presented her research both locally and internationally. When not in class or in the library, one can find Nicolette somewhere in the sunshine, probably reading Sylvia Plath.


“Client Catalysts: Juba II and Cleopatra Selene as Propagators of Roman Cultural Exchange in North Africa” Rachel Locke Winner of the Douglas K. Gordon Cupola Award Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Rosa Motta, Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures

Abstract The immensity and power of the Roman Empire during the reign of Augustus can be attributed to a number of clever tactics employed by the emperor. Two of the most influential were the use of client kingdoms, which were ruled by friends of Augustus appointed to oversee the territories of Rome, and the arrangement of dynastic marriages across the empire. Perhaps the most famous pair with first-hand experience of both institutions were the appointed clients of Mauretania: Juba II of Numidia and Cleopatra Selene of Egypt. When they were eventually married and sent to Africa, the two brought Roman culture with them, resulting in the extreme Romanization of certain practices, art, and architecture in the region. This paper will examine the degree to which Juba II and Cleopatra Selene were responsible for the influx of Roman styles to Northern Africa and their role in causing a hybridization of the two cultures. This essay will investigate the cultural exchange of the Augustan Age (appx. 43 B.C.E. to 18 C.E.) between the Italian peninsula and the Roman regions of North Africa as a result of client rule. It will discuss the Roman characteristics of Mauretanian art which suggest the two monarchs played a direct role in altering the artistic conventions of their kingdom. This argument will be evidenced by archeological findings in the ancient city of Caesarea-Iol, documented GraecoRoman religious practices, historical primary accounts of the rulers, Mauretanian coinage, and analysis of the famous “Africa Dish.” Juba and Cleopatra Selene’s impact on the Roman-North African cultural exchange is indisputable. Roman influence upon Mauretania did not end with Augustus’ appointment of these two as rulers. In fact, quite the opposite; it had only begun.


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Emperor Augustus’s rule of Rome is considered a golden age and a time of peace. The immensity, power, and relative harmony of the Roman Empire during this time can be attributed to a number of clever tactics employed by the emperor. Two of the most influential were his use of client monarchs –friends of Augustus appointed to rule and oversee the territories of Rome–as well as the arrangement of dynastic marriages across the empire. Perhaps the most famous pair with first-hand experience of both institutions were the appointed client rulers of Mauretania: Juba II of Numidia and Cleopatra Selene of Egypt. Both were brought to Rome at a young age and raised among the emperor’s own family. When they were eventually married to one another and sent to Africa, the two brought Roman culture with them, resulting in the Romanization of certain practices, art, and architecture. Rome, however, was not the sole influencer; North African and themes and symbols made their way into the empire as well, especially those associated with the two rulers. Analysis of Roman statuary, architecture, cult, and coins in Mauretania, as well as historical accounts of the monarchs in Rome and on the Italian peninsula, show an obvious connection facilitated by Juba II and Cleopatra Selene, as well as significant influence from their conquered homelands. Juba II and Cleopatra Selene were examples of the physical and cultural merging of realms and therefore acted as major catalysts for the cultural convergence and exchange between mainland Rome and North Africa. Juba II was taken in first by Julius Caesar and then Octavian after the downfall of his father’s nation, Numidia.1 He was only a boy of perhaps two years when he was seized from his African homeland and paraded through the city in Caesar’s triumph.2 Therefore, the majority of his youth was spent as a ward of the emperor. During this time, he was educated in the Roman tradition and developed a love for Roman culture. He participated in a number of military campaigns alongside Augustus, becoming his loyal follower and friend. During this time, he picked up on Roman military, political, and economic techniques which he later instituted in Mauretania, an ancient North African province which was located in modern-day Morocco and Algeria.3 Once he reached adulthood, Juba was granted this kingdom of Mauretania and married to Cleopatra Selene, the daughter of the Roman Marc Antony and Ptolemaic Egyptian queen, Cleopatra VII.4 Of the two wives Juba II had in his lifetime, Cleopatra Selene was by far the most significant and influential. She experienced a shockingly similar story to that of young Juba –she was triumphed in Rome after the suicide of a parent and raised among Augustus’ own family.5 She was well-educated, cultured, and after spending her youth in Rome, a loyal subject of Augustus. Cleopatra Selene was seen by Augustus to be the perfect dynastic match for Juba II, and she became his valued partner and wife. The two were then granted sovereignty of Mauretania and lived there permanently until their respective deaths.6 Upon traveling to Mauretania, the monarchs were responsible for a massive undertaking: redesigning and ruling a country in which they had neither ties nor authority to rule. They were part of Augustus’ system of client monarchs. These “clients” were often royal children who had been raised in Rome and assigned to rule a nation to which they were not native. This was an ingenious tactic by the emperor to promote dependence upon him. Juba II and Cleopatra Selene were far more engaged with their Roman heritage than their African roots. Because they had Duane W. Roller, The World of Juba II and Kleopatra Selene: Royal Scholarship on Rome’s African Frontier. (Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2003), ProQuest Ebook Central, Preface, ix. 2 Roller, The World of Juba II and Kleopatra Selene, 1. 3 David M. Jacobson, “Three Roman Client Kings: Herod of Judaea, Archelaus of Cappadocia and Juba of Mauretania.” (Palestine Exploration Quarterly 133, no. 1, 2001), 27. 4 Dio liii. 26. 2; Jacobson, “Three Roman Client Kings,” 25. 5 Jane Draycott, “Cleopatra’s Daughter,” (History Today, 2013), 42. 6 Draycott, “Cleopatra’s Daughter,” 44. 1


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no established ties to Mauretanian culture and had long since lost most of their loyalties to the North African way of life, they were seen as illegitimate usurpers by the Mauretanian public. The two monarchs were therefore forced to depend upon Rome for power and legitimacy.7 It is possible that the Romanization efforts undertaken by Juba and Cleopatra Selene occurred as a result of pressure from the emperor in exchange for his protection. Nevertheless, their time in Rome resulted in a steadfast loyalty to the emperor and interest in, admiration for, and practice of Roman art, architecture, and religion. There is significant evidence that both monarchs were besotted with Graeco-Roman art and architecture and had the freedom to style their new kingdom as they pleased. The style they chose was predominantly that of Rome. One of the largest and clearest examples of their attempts at bringing Roman culture to Mauretania is in the establishment of Caesarea-Iol. This city was re-founded by Juba and Cleopatra Selene in honor of their benefactor and sovereign, Caesar Augustus, and was one of the many urbes Caesareae, or “cities of Caesar,” established by client rulers throughout the empire’s vast territories.8 This city became one of the province’s two capital cities and emerged as a bustling cosmopolitan hub. Cultures were fused and changed in almost every aspect of the city. The monarchs rebuilt Caesarea in a traditionally Roman style, complete with a grand forum, with notable touches from Greece and Egypt as well, both of which were now part of the Roman Empire.9 According to the ancient author Pliny the Elder, temples to both Egyptian and Roman deities were built at this site, often in a hybridization of Egyptian and Graeco-Roman styles using Mauretanian resources.10 Furthermore, certain uniquely Roman artistic techniques are visible in the two ancient capital cities. Roman spiraling scroll motifs and mosaics decorated Mauretanian villas and palaces, and opus reticulatum, a Roman diagonal brick-laying technique, was used to construct other elements of the city.11 Ruins of Roman columns decorate the site of the ancient Caesarean forum, many of which have been excavated and are now in the National Public Museum of Cherchell. Some of the architecture dated from the period of Juba II is not purely Roman, however. For example, Roman columns often had decorative tops in either the Ionic Fig. 1. Column Base. or Corinthian order, while the bases of these orders National Public Museum of remained relatively plain. The Column Base housed Churchell, Churchell. in the Cherchell museum, however, is decorated with different, more detailed motifs (Fig. 1). It is unclear whether these decorative elements result from Egyptian or North African influence on Roman architecture, but it seems highly probable. Regardless, it is evidence of the manipulation of “pure” Roman aesthetic values and the integration of some other element. Juba was a prolific scholar and was fascinated both with the land he had been granted as well as those nations surrounding him.12 He travelled and studied many elements of African life, writing extensively about them. Upon his appointment to Mauretania, he made immediate attempts to reconnect with his African heritage and study anything naturally, culturally, or

Jacobson, “Three Roman Client Kings,” 24. Plin. NH. 3314-3315. 9 Draycott, “Cleopatra’s Daughter,” 44. 10 Plin. NH. 3524. 11 Jacobson, “Three Roman Client Kings,” 28, 30. 12 Roller, The World of Juba II and Kleopatra Selene, 4. 7 8


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politically relevant to Mauretania. One of his most relevant works was called the Libyka, which examined the majority of North Africa, in which he discusses a diverse assortment of material pertinent to his kingdom. For example, the Libyka is the leading source of information on the now extinct North African Elephant, which was to become the primary symbol of Juba’s lands, referenced in a multitude of art and coinage associated with Juba II and Cleopatra Selene.13 Unfortunately, hardly any of Juba’s literary works survive. His genius is, however, referenced by authors whose works have been preserved, such as Pliny the Elder. Juba’s scholarship and interest in learning was supplemented by his wife’s education and worldly court.14 The monarchs surrounded themselves with a diverse assembly of advisors, writers, entertainers, and artists from other parts of the Roman Empire. One of the most famous people attracted by Juba II and Cleopatra Selene’s bustling new court and city was the Greek poet Crinagoras.15 Crinagoras commemorated the union of Juba II and Cleopatra Selene in a poem, noting the marriage’s importance in binding North Africa together under Rome.16 The impact made on Mauretania by these client monarchs is clear in the migration of scholars and architects to cities in the region, namely the capital cities of Caesarea-Iol and Volubilis. The prosperous nature of the city was a causation for the influx of artists and advisors as much as it was a result of the phenomenon. The more talented people immigrated to Mauretania, the more appealing this client land became. Cities like Caesarea became, in essence, smaller and perhaps more accessible versions of Rome, in which both locals and foreigners had a chance to thrive. Skilled individuals emerged from every corner of the Roman Empire and helped Juba II and Cleopatra Selene to reshape the cities and nation to their liking. The monarchs already had a number of connections across the Roman empire made possible by Augustus through practical marriages.17 Their public works and attempts at Romanizing Mauretania now drew in even more. Ancient author Suetonius writes of how keen Augustus was to promote friendships and alliances between each of the client nations, regarding them as vital “limbs and organs” of the empire whose connection contributed to the prosperity of Rome.18 This further facilitated an influx of other cultures. Mauretania became a cosmopolitan hub which integrated far more than just Roman culture. However, nearly every occurrence of cultural integration was, to some degree, facilitated by Rome. Though Juba II and Cleopatra Selene certainly directly advanced Romanitas in Mauretania, they facilitated the Roman exchange in many indirect ways as well. There is significant evidence of trade networks between Caesarea and other territories, made possible by the client network and the dynastic intermarriages connecting kingdoms.19 However, the majority of trade and influence came from the Italian peninsula itself. An abundance of Roman statuary and architecture has emerged since roughly the 1840s in the regions surrounding the ancient Caesarea-Iol, such as the Diane Chasseresse, a marble statue housed at the National Public Museum of Cherchell in Algeria Roller, The World of Juba II and Kleopatra Selene, 4-5. Draycott, “Cleopatra’s Daughter,” 44; Jane Draycott, “Dynastic Politics, Defeat, Decadence and Dining: Cleopatra Selene on the So-Called ‘Africa’ Dish from the Villa Della Pisanella at Boscoreale,” (Papers of the British School at Rome 80, 10, 2012), 56; Roller, The World of Juba and Kleopatra Selene, 4. 15 Jacobson, “Three Roman Client Kings,” 31. 16 D. Braund. “Anth. Pal. 9. 235: Juba II, Cleopatra Selene and the Course of the Nile,” (The Classical Quarterly 34, no. 1, 1984), 175. 17 Suet. Aug. 48, ed. Alexander Thompson and J. Eugene Reed, (Philadelphia, Gebbie & Co., 1889). 18 Suet. Aug. 48. 19 Jacobson, “Three Roman Client Kings,” 24, 28. 13 14


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(Fig. 2). This figure depicts the goddess Diana alongside her sacred deer. This statue is one of the many antique marble and bronze representations of Graeco-Roman figures, both historical and divine, discovered in the region of ancient Caesarea. Though these have not been precisely dated, there are some figures which contextually align with the rule of Cleopatra Selene and Juba II, one of which is Auguste (Fig. 3). This sculpture in the round, understood by scholars to be Emperor Augustus, was discovered in the heart of the city near an ancient theatre.20 Although it is possible this statue could have been created after the Augustan period, it is far likelier that it Fig. 2. Diane Chasseresse. The Louvre Museum, Paris. was erected by Juba II and Cleopatra Selene to honor the city’s namesake. Additionally, there is evidence that Augustan emperor worship took place in certain regions of Mauretania, specifically those with direct ties to Rome, such as Caesarea. During the reign of Juba II and Cleopatra Selene, various monuments went up to a deified Augustus, such as one in Tripolitania, erected after an uprising in the region was quelled.21 Augustus was considered more than simply the far-off dictator of Fig. 3. Auguste. Mauretania; he was a god. For all these reasons, Auguste was likely a National Public Museum statue contemporary with client rule and a figure introduced to the of Churchell, Churchell. area directly by Juba II and Cleopatra Selene. The statue Hercules, discovered in a Roman bath at CaesareaIol, was also potentially created at the behest of the monarchs (Fig. 4).22 Both Juba II and Cleopatra traced their lineage to the god Hercules, and some of the mythic tasks performed by Hercules were said to have been performed in North Africa.23 Furthermore, the Herculean cult was brought to Mauretania by Juba II, who venerated him in the 1st century B.C.E.24 The two client monarchs had important ties to this god, and, considering each of them spent the majority of their youth in Rome, likely depended on his mythological exploits in their new region to give them an element of legitimacy and divine right. Regardless of whether this sculpture was created during their lifetimes or after, it almost certainly came into being as a result of their rule. These statues have many implications for Juba II and Cleopatra Selene. First, they are all fashioned in a predominantly Roman style, which implies either that they were made in Europe Fig. 4. Hercules. and shipped to Mauretania, or that the style was adopted by National Public Museum Mauretanian sculptors. Furthermore, the appearance of Roman of Churchell, Churchell. gods makes clear that the religious practices of Rome were alive National Public Museum of Cherchell. Statuary. http://www.musee-cherchell.dz/ collections_statuaire.html 21 J. Bert. Lott, “The Earliest Augustan Gods Outside of Rome,” (The Classical Journal 110, no. 2, 2015) 144. 22 National Public Museum of Churchell. Statuary. 23 Draycott, “The ‘Africa’ Dish,” 54. 24 National Public Museum of Churchell. Statuary. 20


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and well in the city of Caesarea-Iol, and their abundance implies either that the public took quickly to the practices or that Juba II and Cleopatra Selene were incredibly skilled at enforcing the cult. Regardless of whether all of these statues are from the Augustan period, it is undeniable that Juba II and Cleopatra Selene set things in motion for the influx of Roman themes. Where there is change, however, there is bound to be resistance, and Mauretania was no exception. Juba II and Cleopatra Selene were met with their fair share of resistance and resentment. In fact, they were thrust into it. Prior to Juba II’s appointment, the Mauretanian region had already had some interaction with Romans. The region had split as a result of a civil war which broke out over public sentiments toward Roman interference, and it was this rebellion which inspired Augustus to appoint Juba II to unite the opposing provinces under Roman law.25 Therefore, Juba II and Cleopatra Selene came into an already tumultuous situation and faced a great deal of immediate hostility. There were a number of uprisings against these foreigners the public saw as imposter Africans and illegitimate rulers.26 Augustus appointed Juba II and Cleopatra Selene because he supposed they each had some sort of connection to the region, the former as an heir of Numidia and the latter with a claim to the title of Queen of both Egypt and Libya.27 Unfortunately for the rulers, this was a rather flimsy argument, and much of the Mauretanian public still rejected their legitimacy. The rulers depended heavily on the funds and military support of Rome to maintain order, which only distanced them from their public more. Gaetulians, a group of North Africans living within the boundaries of Mauretania, rebelled directly against Juba and Cleopatra Selene, as well as Rome.28 Tacitus references a particular insurrection against Rome which spanned a majority of North Africa in his Annals in which a number of Gaetulians participated.29 None of these revolutions ever truly amounted to anything, and, considering the technical strength of Juba and Cleopatra Selene’s Roman army, they were little more than an inconvenience. However, it is clear that Rome’s intense imposition upon North Africa did not happen uncontested. To some extent, Juba II himself even resisted Rome as time went on, though not in any obvious sort of way. Over his years in Africa, Juba became more invested in discovering the secrets of his African ancestry. He became profoundly interested in the history, culture, and geography of Mauretania and surrounding nations.30 He never renounced his Roman upbringing or patron, but whether out of necessity or genuine curiosity, Mauretania made its own impact on Juba II. One of the clearest examples of the hybridization instigated by Cleopatra Selene and Juba II is in the iconography of their coins. The circumstances of Juba II and Cleopatra Selene’s birth and upbringing had a significant impact upon their ideology and style of rule. They were very open to the integration of multiple cultures because they themselves were a hybridization. Both were thoroughly Romanized individuals because of their time spent among the emperor’s family, but regardless of the way they usually portrayed themselves, elements of their origins were visible in small ways, such as through the symbolism on coins. Coins were one of the clearest examples of the cosmopolitan kingdom the client rulers had created for themselves.31 Roller, The World of Juba II and Kleopatra Selene, 3. Cassius Dio, 55.28.2, 55.28.4, quoted in D. Braund “Anth. Pal. 9. 235: Juba II, Cleopatra Selene and the Course of the Nile.” (The Classical Quarterly 34, no. 1, 1984), 144. 27 Roller, The World of Juba II and Kleopatra Selene, 3. 28 Lott, “Augustan Gods Outside of Rome,” 144. 29 Tac. Ann. ii.52; iV.26, quoted in David M. Jacobson, “Three Roman Client Kings: Herod of Judaea, Archelaus of Cappadocia and Juba of Mauretania.” (Palestine Exploration Quarterly 133, no. 1 , 2001), 24. 30 National Public Museum of Cherchell. Juba II. 31 Jacobson, “Three Roman Client Kings,” 30. 25 26


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In coins, the monarchs were able to allude not only to their pasts, but to the symbols of their present situation as well. On many of their coins, the rulers featured one or both of their faces. One particular example of a coin with conglomerate iconography is shown by Fig. 5. This coin, minted in Mauretania, features the names “King Juba” in Latin and “Cleopatra” in Greek, along with the face of Juba.32 Such things are to be expected Fig. 5. Coin, British Museum, of national coins, though the differing languages London, Inv. 1909,0102.30. associated with each of the rulers allude to their respective backgrounds. This particular coin also features an ibis and a snake, both of which likely represented Cleopatra Selene’s Egyptian roots. Notably, coins minted specifically in the name of Cleopatra Selene often feature Greek and Egyptian themes, while Juba II’s were decidedly African or Roman. Many coins of Augustan Mauretania also featured the associated aforementioned North African Elephant, a common symbol of the region and native to both Mauretania and Juba’s homeland, Numidia (Fig. 6).33 In fact, the elephant was often featured on the coins of Juba II’s father, Juba I of Numidia, before the Roman takeover (Fig. 7). It is highly likely that Juba’s use of the image was influenced both by the animal’s presence in Mauretania and his ancestral coinage. When examining the two kings’ currency side-by-side, the similarities in style, orientation, and illustration are obvious.

Fig. 6. Coin of Juba II. The British Museum, London. Inv. 1851,0424.1.

Fig. 7. Coin of Juba I of Numidia, The British Museum, London. Inv. G.350.

There are a great many other repeating symbols on Mauretanian coinage, such as the lion, crescent moon, and cornucopia.34 The lion may be attributed to Juba II and Cleopatra Selene’s previously mentioned Herculean connection, while the crescent moon icons likely represent Cleopatra Selene, whose namesake “Selene” was the Greek goddess of the moon.35 The cornucopia was a widely recognized symbol of wealth and prosperity, and it was for this reason that Juba II incorporated it into the iconography for his kingdom. Rather than representing either of the monarchs or any other individual, the cornucopia most likely served to represent the Mauretanian region as a whole. It was a region rich in natural resources, dyes, and agriculture.36 Juba II and Cleopatra Selene took advantage of this and brought Mauretania into a much larger The British Museum, Online Collections, coin, https://research.britishmuseum.org research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1250605& partId=1&searchText=juba&page=1. 33 The British Museum, Online Collections. 34 The British Museum. Collections Online. 35 Draycott, “The ‘Africa’ Dish,” 51-52, 55. 36 Roller, The World of Juba II and Kleopatra Selene, 4. 32


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economic sphere, introducing an element of industry to North Africa. Economics was one of the largest ways in which Mauretania asserted itself as a global player, and this idea was represented on its coins.37 The primary way this was shown is in the inclusion of the cornucopia on coins, presenting their nation to the world as a land of wealth and abundance.38 There was an exchange with North Africa which was both hastened and facilitated by the monarchs; the situation was far from a one-way takeover by Rome. However, the exchange often occurred in some rather muddy ways, and North African culture only really began travelling to Europe by accompanying themes concerning the clients in some way. Art and literature associated with these grand individuals were some of the only things initially deemed worthy of attention from these regions. For that reason, influences from the developing North Africa were more subtle than those from powerful, preestablished Rome. To a large extent, it was the introduction of Cleopatra Selene and Juba II that brought this region the possibility of having influence and renown of its own. Cleopatra Selene, even more than her husband, was a renowned example of hybridization, coming from a Roman father and Ptolemaic mother, raised in both Egypt and Rome, married to a Roman man from Numidia, and appointed to rule Mauretania. Cleopatra Selene’s story is convoluted and led to her continued effect on the many cultures with which she had experience. Clearly, she had direct influence within the city of Rome and in her client kingdom of Mauretania, but she was also celebrated as influential in other parts of the Roman empire. One piece of the Boscoreale Treasure, called the “Africa” dish, excavated from a buried villa on the Italian peninsula, features the emblema of a woman thought Fig. 8. Boscoreale Treasureto be Cleopatra Selene (Fig. 8).39 Scholar Jane Draycott ‘Africa’ Dish, Louvre Museum, Paris. makes a compelling argument for this theory through careful examination of both the face and the abundant iconography on the dish. The artifact is made of partially gilded cast silver and features a complex narrative which Draycott reconciles with the narrative of Cleopatra Selene.40 The central figure wears an elephant scalp upon her head, a symbol of North African royalty.41 This is the factor which distinguishes the woman from being Octavia, Livia, or a host of other imperial Roman women, as well as Cleopatra VII. The elephant scalp is rather uniquely representative of the region which Juba II and Cleopatra Selene ruled. Surrounding the emblema is a multitude of small animals and objects, which, in the context of Cleopatra Selene, aid in the telling of her story. Some of the more prominent or notable figures include: a diametrically opposed asp and panther, crescent moon atop a cornucopia, and host of Herculean icons. The first set serves to represent the queen’s parents, Marc Antony and Cleopatra VII, with the asp calling attention to Cleopatra’s suicide and the panther alluding to the frivolous Dionysus, after whom Antony often modelled himself.42 The crescent moon, as with the coins, likely refers to Cleopatra Selene herself. It is countered with a representation of the sun god Helios, after whom her twin brother was named, upon the Roller, The World of Juba II and Kleopatra Selene, 4 Roller, The World of Juba II and Kleopatra Selene, 4-5. 39 Draycott, “The ‘Africa’ Dish,”45-47. 40 Draycott, “The ‘Africa’ Dish,” 46. 41 Roller, The World of Juba II and Kleopatra Selene, 20. 42 Draycott, “The ‘Africa’ Dish,” 51-55. 37 38


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exterior of the cornucopia.43 The cornucopia may also refer to Mauretania’s abundance, but considering that it was also a symbol to the Ptolemaic dynasty, it seems likely in this instance that it refers to her ancestry.44 The many Herculean symbols, such as a lion, club, and peacock, reinforce the idea of the Mauretanian client monarchs as Hercules’ descendants, a vital element in the narrative this dish attempts to construct. The “Africa” dish likely served multiple purposes. First and foremost, it posed an entertaining historical puzzle for dinner guests to solve. Second, it was indicative of the wealth and cultural prowess of the host. Third, the themes suggest a lesson to be taken from her story.45 Her parents actively fought against the Augustan regime and Roman virtue, meeting a cruel fate, while Cleopatra Selene, though their daughter, chose instead to following in the virtuous path of her ancestor Hercules. This resulted in her rise through the imperial ranks and her establishment as queen of Mauretania. There are many subtleties in the dish, but when pieced together, they create a story very telling of the time. Perhaps the most fascinating part of this dish, upon which numerous gods and famous figures are represented, is that Cleopatra Selene sits quite literally at the center of it all, the connective force between the grand characters who were responsible for creating Roman Africa. The implications of this dish on the historical significance of Cleopatra Selene are massive. Upon this dish are obvious references to Roman tradition, myth, and historical figures, but also references to her journey to Mauretania, her marriage to Juba, and her major role as a physical and cultural bridge between the Italian Peninsula and the African continent. This artifact was likely constructed during her life or soon after her death, indicating that contemporaries of the queen recognized her significance. It is curious that a dish dedicated to the life of an African queen would be found within an Italian villa, but this only further confirms that she was recognized across the Roman Empire for her contribution to its strength. Additionally, there were accounts of a cult following of Cleopatra VII’s family, including Cleopatra Selene, in this region.46 The fact that Italian Romans were concerning themselves with the foreign affairs of Cleopatra Selene implies that non-native Romans were celebrated often for their achievements benefiting the empire, regardless of their background. Born from parents considered enemies and traitors, Cleopatra Selene forged a new story of significance, and in doing so, brought the people and places associated with her into a more favorable light. Mauretania’s queen was considered a suitable, celebrated, and even esteemed subject to the Romans. Their interest in her presence in North Africa is showcased in her possible portrayal upon the Ara Pacis, an alter dedicated to the peace brought about by Augustus.47 While this is still speculation, it is a theory believed by a number of scholars, and, contextually, it makes sense. Cleopatra Selene represented a Roman presence in North Africa, as well as the stability and prosperity which she and her husband had brought to Mauretania at the behest of Augustus. The queen was not alone in her ability to influence the Roman Empire from afar. Juba II, though not as prevalent in Roman art as his wife, made significant scholarly, architectural, and financial contributions to Rome while ruling Mauretania. For example, in conjunction with other client rulers such as Herod the Great of Judaea, Juba II made large donations and created plans for a temple to Zeus in Athens, dedicating it to the deified idea of Augustus’s family, genius Augusti.48 Plut. Vit. Ant. 36.3. referenced in Jane Draycott, “Dynastic Politics, Defeat, Decadence and Dining: Cleopatra Selene on the So-Called ‘Africa’ Dish from the Villa Della Pisanella at Boscoreale,” (Papers of the British School at Rome 80, 10, 2012), 56. 44 Draycott, “The ‘Africa’ Dish,” 52-53. 45 Draycott, “The ‘Africa’ Dish,” 65. 46 Draycott, “The ‘Africa’ Dish,” 60-61. 47 Draycott, “The ‘Africa’ Dish,” 57. 48 Jacobson, “Three Roman Client Kings,” 26. 43


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The king visited Rome a number of times during his reign and stayed in close contact with the city and other parts of the empire, through trade, letters, artistic projects, and more. Until the end of their days, Cleopatra Selene and Juba II remained invested in the progress of the Roman Empire and contributed significantly to it in a number of ways. Juba II and Cleopatra Selene were in a unique position as client rulers to establish a link between Rome and their kingdom of Mauretania. In fact, it was a part of the job. Their appointment to the region and responsibility to facilitate a prosperous connection largely impacted the speed and extent that Romanization occurred in North Africa. They were also heavily responsible for Mauritania’s increased influence on the rest of the empire, both economically and culturally. The exchange was not immune to influence from their native lands or other Roman territories, and it is by their hand that Mauretania experienced an explosion of culture from all over the Mediterranean world. While Augustus himself may have been the driving force behind the Roman presence in North Africa, the catalysts by whom the reaction and effects occurred were Juba II and Cleopatra Selene. Neither the swiftness nor degree of this blending would have been nearly as great without the rulers. Ultimately, Juba II and Cleopatra Selene were significant and necessary for the convergence and hybridization of North African and Roman culture.

Art References Fig. 1. Column Base, marble, H base: 23cm H torus sup: 09cm H torus inf: 07cm H scotie: 08cm. National Public Museum of Cherchell. Architectonic Elements. http://www.musee-cherchell.dz/ collections_elements_architectoniques.html Fig. 2. Diane Chasseresse, Marble statue, 0.65 by 0.75m. National Public Museum of Cherchell. Statuary: The Sculptures of the Cherchell Museum. http://www.musee-cherchell.dz/collections_ statuaire.html#diane Fig. 3. Auguste, White marble with large crystals, 2.35m by 0.80m. National Public Museum of Cherchell. Statuary: The Sculptures of the Cherchell Museum. http://www.musee-cherchell.dz/ collections_statuaire.html#auguste Fig. 4. Hercules, Poor quality white marble, height: 2.60m / width: 0.77m. National Public Museum of Cherchell. Statuary: The Sculptures of the Cherchell Museum. http://www.museecherchell.dz/collections_statuaire.html#hercules Fig. 5. Coin. Copper alloy. The British Museum. Collection Online. https://research.british museum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1250605 &partId=1&searchText=juba&page=1 Fig. 6. Coin. Silver. 2.92 grammes. The British Museum. Collection Online. https://research. britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId= 1250692&partId=1&searchText=juba+coins&page=1 Fig. 7. Coin of Juba I. Alloy coin. 17.81 grammes. The British Museum. Collection Online. https://research.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details. aspx?objectId=1250855&partId=1&searchText=juba+coins&page=1 Fig. 8. Boscoreale Treasure. Partially gilded silver. The Louvre Museum. Collection and Louvre Palace. https://www.louvre.fr/en/moteur-de-recherche-oeuvres?f_search_art=africa+dish


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Bibliography Braund, D. “Anth. Pal. 9. 235: Juba II, Cleopatra Selene and the Course of the Nile.” The Classical Quarterly 34, no. 1 (1984): 175-78. www.jstor.org/stable/638347. British Museum, Online Collections, Coins, https://research.britishmuseum.org/research/ collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1250605&partId=1&search Text=juba&page=1.Cassius Dio. LIII. 26. https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/53*.html#26 Cassius Dio. 55.28.2, 55.28.4. Quoted in Braund, D. “Anth. Pal. 9. 235: Juba II, Cleopatra Selene and the Course of the Nile.” The Classical Quarterly 34, no. 1 (1984): 175-78. www.jstor.org/stable/638347. Draycott, Jane. “Cleopatra’s Daughter.” History Today, 2013. Draycott, Jane. “DYNASTIC POLITICS, DEFEAT, DECADENCE AND DINING: CLEOPATRA SELENE ON THE SO-CALLED ‘AFRICA’ DISH FROM THE VILLA DELLA PISANELLA AT BOSCOREALE.” Papers of the British School at Rome 80, (10, 2012): 45-64. doi:http://0-dx.doi.org.read. cnu.edu/10.1017/S0068246212000049. https://0-search-proquest-com.read.cnu. edu/docview/1159832355?accountid=10100. Jacobson, David M. “Three Roman Client Kings: Herod of Judaea, Archelaus of Cappadocia and Juba of Mauretania.” Palestine Exploration Quarterly 133, no. 1 (2001): 22–38. https://doi.org/10.1179/peq.2001.133.1.22. Lott, J. Bert. “THE EARLIEST AUGUSTAN GODS OUTSIDE OF ROME.” The Classical Journal 110, no. 2 (2015): 129-58. doi:10.5184/classicalj.110.2.0129. National Public Museum of Cherchell. Statuary. http://www.musee-cherchell.dz/collections_ statuaire.html Pliny the Elder. Natural History, vol. 1. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/57493/57493-h/57493 h.htm Roller, Duane W. The World of Juba II and Kleopatra Selene : Royal Scholarship on Rome’s African Frontier. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2003. ProQuest Ebook Central. Suetonius: The Lives of the Twelve Caesars; An English Translation, Augmented with the Biographies of Contemporary Statesmen, Orators, Poets, and Other Associates. Suetonius. Publishing Editor. J. Eugene Reed. Alexander Thomson. Philadelphia. Gebbie & Co. 1889. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02. 0132%3Alife%3Daug.%3Achapter%3D48

About the Author Rachel Locke is a rising Junior at Christopher Newport University pursuing an undergraduate degree in History with minors in Classical Studies, Museum Studies, and Leadership Studies. She hopes to one day enter the field of archeology or museum collections. She has been active in research since her freshman year, working alongside Dr. Kathleen Jaremski in the construction of an online historical costume database. Rachel is very involved on campus; she was recently elected vice president of the a cappella group “Extreme Measures,” helped found the student organization G.R.A.S.P, is secretary of the Classics Honors Society “Eta Sigma Phi,” and is a member of the Honors and President’s Leadership Programs. She is honored and excited by the opportunity to conduct such fascinating research as she has been able to do at CNU. She begins her new role as the OURCA Student Fellow in the Fall.


“An Analysis of the Tonal and Textual Lullaby Conventions in Alban Berg’s Atonal Opera” Daniel Berry Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Chelsey Hamm, Director of Music Theory and Aural Skills

Abstract During the atonal movement in the early 20th century, many European composers began to favor compositional practices in which their works of music were not bound to a specific tone or pitch center of any kind. Among these composers was Alban Berg who was one of the prominent composers of the Second Viennese School, and in Act 1, Scene 3 of his opera, Wozzeck, Berg used tonal conventions in the lullaby section, that contrasted against the overall atonal properties of the opera. I divided the lullaby section into three major formal divisions – each categorized by their meter. Berg shifts mood and meaning of the lullaby section to address the internal conflicts of the character, Marie, through said meter changes. By analyzing the tonal conventions in an otherwise atonal work, a better understanding of Berg’s use of tonality indicating varying moods can be acknowledged.


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Background Biography Alban Maria Johannes Berg (1885 – 1935) was born in the Viennese countryside in 1885 to parents Conrad and Johanna – neither of whom had an aptitude for music, though Johanna’s father was a skilled pianist who played by ear.1 As a young child, Berg took piano lessons, as was expected of middleclass children at that time, though he never exhibited innate talent in his playing.2 By 1899, Berg had noticed the blossoming musical abilities of his siblings, and his interest in music began to grow due in part to his sister’s piano playing and his brother’s singing. Unfortunately, one year later, Berg’s father passed away, and the financial situation of his family became perilous.3 Berg’s academic performance declined sharply at this time, though his literary interest grew; during his teenage years, Berg wrote as much music as he did poetry.4 Post-graduation, Berg became a trainee civil servant where he recorded pigs in the hog market,5 a job which he continued until his older brother, Charly, submitted Berg’s work his teacher, Arnold Schöenberg in 1904.6 Pleased with what he heard, Schöenberg accepted Berg into his composition studio and began to instruct him in music theory and composition. Over time, Schoenberg became an important mentor for Berg teaching him a humanistic approach to composition as well as nonmusical-life lessons. This mentorship helped shape Berg’s musical and personal identity. Musically, Berg’s compositions shifted from a Romantic style to a more atonal one. After studying under Schöenberg for seven years, Berg officially ended his studies in 1911 in order to move to Berlin. Schöenberg’s influence was extremely significant in Berg’s life and would continue to dictate his musical choices for years to come. After the First World War and his subsequent enlistment in the Austro-Hungarian army, Berg went on to write his first opera, Wozzeck, in 1917 whose primary themes were illegitimacy, the plight of the lower class, and love. Before Wozzeck was deemed “degenerate art”7 because it did not attribute to German nationalistic ideals from the impending Nazi regime in 1933, it was performed often throughout the 1920s and early 1930s. Opera Background Wozzeck was considered to be one of the first operas produced in a modernist or avant-garde style8 because it utilized atonality and modernist singing techniques extensively. The lack of tonality helps convey a sense of madness and confusion as there is no tonal ground to center oneself. Instead of a focus on tonal centers, Berg utilized a variety of leitmotifs associated with prominent characters to indicate actions, feelings, and relationships.9 The whole opera deviates from the traditional operatic forms, and each scene in the three-act opera has its own unique form to which it adheres.10 In Act 1, Scene 1, the opera begins with the introduction of Wozzeck, a poor soldier who is working as a barber for the Captain of the military. While shaving the Captain, Wozzeck begins to talk philosophically, but the Captain scolds and insults him. Furthermore, the Captain Willi Reich, Alban Berg (Zurich, Atlantis Verlag AG, 1963), 11. Ibid., 13. 3 Ibid., 13. 4 Ibid., 14. 5 Rothstein, “Melancholy Times,” New York Times, August 19, 1979. 6 Reich, 14. 7 Christopher Hailey, Alban Berg and His World, (Princeton, Princeton University Press, 2010), 223–268. 8 Willi Reich, A Guide to “Wozzeck”, (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1952), 1. 9 Ibid., 10. 10 Ibid., 6. 1 2


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states that Wozzeck has no morals because he has an illegitimate son. Wozzeck retorts that it is difficult to be virtuous when one is poor. In Scene 2, Wozzeck begins to have horrific visions involving fire and death while he is cutting wood with a friend. Scene 3 introduces Marie, the woman with whom Wozzeck had his illegitimate son. She is watching the military band longingly as it passes through town. She catches the attention of the Drum Major, and her neighbor, Margaret, teases Marie for her flirting. Marie slams the window shut and attends to her son, whose name is never identified in the opera. After she sings a lullaby to him, Wozzeck returns to tell Marie the visions he had. Once Wozzeck leaves, Marie laments her financial status and sits in despair. Scene 4 features an aside where Wozzeck speaks with the Doctor. In Scene 5, Marie talks to the Drum Major outside her house, and after several rejected advancements from the him, Marie finally gives in to his advances. In the beginning of Scene 1 of the second act, Marie puts her child to sleep while admiring new earrings the Drum Major gifted to her. Wozzeck enters and begins to question where she got them. She claims she found them, and while Wozzeck is not convinced, he does not ask any more questions. In Scene 2, Wozzeck is ridiculed by the Captain and the town Doctor who insinuate that Marie is having an affair with the Drum Major. Crushed, Wozzeck goes back to interrogate Marie in Scene 3, and she does not deny the accusations. He is about to strike her, but she protests saying, “better a knife in my belly than your hands on me,” possibly giving Wozzeck the idea of his revenge. In Scene 4, Marie is seen dancing with the Drum Major, enraging Wozzeck. In Scene 5, Wozzeck remains disheartened which is perpetuated when the Drum Major drunkenly instigates a fight with him. Act 3, Scene 1 begins with Marie praying for forgiveness and reading from the Bible. Scene 2 depicts Marie and Wozzeck walking together in the woods by a pond. Wozzeck restrains Marie and cries out that if he cannot have her, then no one can, and he stabs her as a blood-red moon rises. In Scene 3, Wozzeck wanders back into town and meets a barmaid, Margaret, at the tavern. He dances with and attempts to woo her, but he is unsuccessful. Margaret eventually notices blood stains on Wozzeck’s hands, causing a tavern-wide panic. Afraid that the knife he used to stab Marie will incriminate him, Wozzeck returns to the scene of the crime in Scene 4. He throws the knife into the pond but fears it is still too easily accessible. Paranoid, Wozzeck swims out in an attempt to both hide the weapon and wash off the blood, but he drowns. The opera ends in the Act’s final scene with the town’s children playing in the street, one of whom is Marie and Wozzeck’s son who is depicted as separate from the group. Several older children rush over to them and explain to him that his mother is dead. The children leave to examine the corpse, but the boy plays on his toy horse for a short while longer before going off to join them seemingly unaware of the larger situation. Introduction Berg’s opera, Wozzeck, includes a reoccurring theme of moral ambiguity as each character encounters ethically questionable scenarios. Marie’s character regrets the life she has, for both her romantic and financial situations with Wozzeck displeases her. Though she loves her son, she would rather have a life where she pursued the Drum Major instead of Wozzeck. She frequently flirts with the Drum Major which causes Wozzeck pain and anguish. After flirting with the Drum Major from outside her window, her neighbor teases Marie which embarrasses her. She tends to her child and begins to sing him a lullaby. In this lullaby, however, she continues to lament her life and question what she should do. Berg creates a disjointed lullaby in Act 1 Scene 3 to represent Marie’s internal conflicts about her love life, and throughout the first section, Berg’s metrical shifts help to convey the mood and meaning of the text. The scene fluctuates between the conflicting emotions of love and hate while it changes meter and subdivisions. When Berg arrives at the lullaby proper, it lasts only a short time, for Marie is in the midst of comforting both her child and herself.


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Text and Translation The text of Act 1 Scene 3 can be seen below, in Figure 1, in both the original German and with an English translation. The italicized text below indicates the passage is in simple quadruple; the underlined text below indicates the passage is in compound duple; the bolded text below indicates the passage is in simple triple: German Lied

English Translation

Komm, mein Bub! Was die Leute wollen! Bist nur ein arm’ Hurenkind und machst Deiner Mutter doch so viel Freud’ mit Deinem unehrlichen Gesicht! [wiegt das Kind] Eia popeia…

Come, my boy! What do the people want? You are only a poor bastard, and you make Your mother feel so much joy with your dishonest face! [she rocks the child] Eia Popeia…

Mädel, was fangst Du jetzt an? Hast ein klein Kind und kein Mann! Ei, was frag’ ich darnach, Sing’ ich die ganze Nacht: Eia popeia, mein süßer Bu’, Gibt mir kein Mensch nix dazu!

Maiden, what are you starting on now? You have a little kid and no man! Oh, I ask what to do afterwards, I sing the whole night: Eia Popeia, my sweet boy, Nobody gives me anything!

Hansel, spann’ Deine sechs Schimmel an, Gib sie zu fressen auf ’s neu, Kein Haber fresse sie, Kein Wasser saufe sie, Lauter kühle Wein muss es sein!

Hansel, saddle on your six white horses, Give them new food to eat No oats shall it eat No water shall it drink Clear, cool wine it must be! 11

Figure 1: Text of Marie’s Lullaby (original German and English translation) In Act 1 Scene 3 Marie cradles her son to sleep while singing a lullaby. She begins with a recapitulation of her son’s upbringing and the feelings he invokes in Marie. Her language conveys a sense of conflict, for she has a maternal love for her child, but the situation surrounding his birth is unfortunate. By having a child out of wedlock, her son is a bastard which puts social disfavor on Marie. After she sings about her son, she begins to rock her child, and the narrative shifts into an introspective mood where Marie laments the choices that she has made surrounding her son and realizes that all she can do now is sing to comfort herself and her son. Marie dwells on the negative and longs for a fantastical relationship with the Drum Major, a powerful man, that is not feasible because of her son. The section ends with her longing for a better life. Form of mm. 364 – 403 Act 1 Scene 3 begins in simple quadruple meter. The text and music are congruent with one another, for they both lack stability. The text conveys conflicting emotions while the music oscillates between a duple and triple subdivision. Contrasting with this section, the following section in compound duple meter has a newly established rhythmic stability. The text becomes firmly introspective as Marie laments her life choices, and the music adheres to a compound duple subdivision. The lullaby proper then begins in simple triple meter while the 11

Translated by Daniel Berry


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mood of the text becomes loving. Marie’s rhythms become homogenous and consistent with the smallest subdivision (a quarter note). Additionally, this is the first time after the section where she verbally acknowledges her son. When the meter changes back to compound duple, Marie returns to an introspective mood, but the text begins to lose its basis in reality. Here, she calls out to a fictitious man and instructs him to upkeep his six, white horses. The music remains quite similar to the previous section with minimal melodic and rhythmic variations. The last section in simple triple meter heightens this absurdity but maintains its musical composure and remains similar to its predecessor in the same time signature. Sections

Meter

Text Summary

Metrical Comments Formal Division

mm. 363 – 371

Marie introduces the scene by retailing the events surrounding her son. She uses pseudo-comforting language to mask the abusive undertones.

Oscillation between duple and triple subdivision.

A

mm. 372 – 379

The tone becomes introspective in nature, and Marie laments her life choices.

Consistent compound subdivision.

B

mm. 380 – 387

Marie shifts to the lullaby proper section, and she begins to comfort her son while continuing to lament her life.

Marie sings consistent quarter note dotted half note pattern with sustained notes in the orchestra and arpeggiation in the harp.

C

mm. 388 – 395

Children’s story-esque Consistent deviation where Ma- compound rie depicts a fantasti- subdivision. cal scenario involving horses

B’

mm. 396 – 403

A continuation of the lullaby proper where Marie reiterates to feed horses only clear, cool wine

C’

Same consistent quarter note dotted half note pattern with more rhythmic elaboration, and the sustained notes in the winds and brass and arpeggiation in the harp and bass.

Figure 2: A chart categorizing sections by their meter, text summary, metrical comments, and formal divisions


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Figure 2 divides the lullaby portion of Act 1 Scene 3 into five categories. First, from left to right, “Sections” refers to groups of measures that share properties identified by the remaining categories. Second, “Meter” states the rhythmic meter appropriate to each section. Third, “Text Summary” details a brief description of important textual events. Fourth, “Metrical Comments” describes the significant metric qualities found in each section. Fifth, “Formal Division” designates sections by letter. The designations B’ and C’ share melodic and rhythmic ideas to their respective predecessors and are labeled accordingly. Musical Analysis Throughout the first section, Berg’s metrical shifts help to convey the mood and meaning of the text. Lullabies are often short, simple, and structed passages that are soft, gentle, and performed at a slow tempo.12 They are musically tailored to pacify children, so they often feature descending melodic lines.13 Textually, however, lullabies historically served a dual purpose. It was the role of the mother to soothe her child to sleep, but lullabies often allow for a mother to express the inner turmoil she is experiencing. The lullaby was cathartic for not only the child as they were lulled to sleep but also for the mother because it allowed her to voice her desires privately. Lullabies traditionally evoked not only compassion and love for the child, but they allowed for the expression of worry and bitterness.14 Berg conveyed these conflicting emotions through metric, rhythmic, melodic, and textual changes in Marie’s lullaby. Formal division A begins Marie’s lyrics, and the figure below depicts her part. Figure 3: Formal Division A, mm. 364 – 370, blue sections highlight triple subdivision; red sections highlight duple subdivision

At the beginning of Marie’s lullaby, there is a sense of unease as each measure oscillates between a different subdivision—duple and triple. This oscillation between a duple and triple subdivision parallels the back-and-forth nature of her words in this section as they too shift between pseudo-comforting and abusive. The phrases, “arm’ Hurenkind” [poor bastard] and “unehrlichen Gesicht” [dishonest face] are juxtaposed by a sense of love, as she says her son makes her feel “doch so viel Freud’” [so much joy]. Both the text and the music create unease as neither stay in one mood or subdivision for longer than a measure. Marie ends formal division A with the line, “Eia Popeia,” which is likely alluding to a popular children’s song from Des Knaben Wunderhorn – a collection of German folk songs and poems widely popular among 19th century German speakers in Europe.15 Within the third volume of Des Knaben Wunderhorn, there is a Kinderlieder [children’s songs] from Adrienne Rock, Laurel Trainor, & Tami Addison, “Distinctive messages in infant-directed lullabies and play songs,” Developmental Psychology 35, no. 2, (1999): 527-534. 13 Sandra Trehub & Laurel Trainor, “Singing to infants: Lullabies and play songs,” Advances in Infancy Research, (1998): 43-78. 14 Margaret B. McDowell, “Folk lullabies: Songs of anger, love, and fear,” Women’s Studies 5, no. 2, (1977): 205-218. 15 Arnim, Ludwig Achim, Clemens Brentano, and Heinz Rölleke. Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Alte deutsche Lieder. Stuttgart: Reclam, (1987): 38. 12


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Engelbert Humperdinck’s 1892 opera, Hänsel und Gretel titled “Eia popeia was rasselt im Stroh.” Eia Popeia is derived directly from the Greek phrase, Εύα Πάπια, which is a nonsense phrase literally translated to “now then” which is used in tandem with cradling a small child to sleep in German culture.16 The inclusion of Eia Popeia reinforces the notion that Marie will shift to a proper lullaby in the following measure, for her stage directions indicate her to “wiegt das Kind” [Rock her child], and she begins to use language and a descending melodic line which are indicative of a children’s song. Formal Division B, starting at m. 372, subverts the expectations on which formal division A ends. Division B becomes a definitive compound duple passage differing from the expected continuation of simple quadruple. The text parallels this deception, for she leads into the notion that she will begin the lullaby proper but instead continues her lamenting and avoiding the lullaby proper. Figure 4: Formal Division B, mm. 372 – 379, blue sections highlight similar intervallic melodic patterns; red sections highlight scalar melodic patterns

Melodically, formal division B does not fully represent the lullaby proper section. The pitches are more related to each other by intervals of thirds and fourths rather than typical lullabies which use scalar or triadic melodic patterns. Textually, formal division B represents the emotional release for Marie which is a characteristic of lullabies. She asks herself, “was fangst Du jetzt an?” [what are you starting on now?]. The introspective nature of her text continues as she evaluates the situation she is in. She sings, “Hast ein klein Kind und kein Mann!” [You have a little kid and no man!] and continues to reflect on her life choices. Division B melodically begins to shift focus around a D♭ Major scale center in m. 378. This indicates the start of the lullaby proper as it is beginning to utilize standard lullaby conventions. Formal division C begins the lullaby proper section at last. Both Marie’s text and melody embody conventional lullaby practices. She begins singing, “Eia popeia, mein süßer Bu’” [Eia Popeia, my sweet boy] relating back to the previous mention of Eia Popeia at the end of division A. Her words now have a gentle nature to them as she begins to praise her son. The orchestral accompaniment furthers the sense of a lullaby as they swell and lessen in dynamics with a motion similar to that of a mother rocking her child. The motion is consistent, and the orchestra plays in the lower register of their respective instruments at a pianissimo dynamic.

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Wahrig Fremdwörterlexikon, 5th ed. (Munich, Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co, 1984), s.v. “Eiapopeia,” https://www.wissen.de/fremdwort/eiapopeia.


Figure 5: mm. 380 – 84 flute and violin line depicting the dynamic swells and lower register

The main melodic structure consists of descending triads, a tonal characteristic not typical for Berg’s atonal composition. Figure 6: Formal Division C depicting the chord qualities in the lullaby proper

The descending triadic lines are a common feature in lullabies, and the figure below depicts a traditional, tonal lullaby. Figure 7: Brahms’ Lullaby, Wiegenlied Op. 49 No. 4 highlighting descending triadic lines

Both share a reoccurring pattern of descending triadic lines which help cement its place as a proper lullaby. In Figure 6, m. 384 begins to shift away from the descending triadic contour and begins an ascending scalar pattern. This section bridges the gap between formal division C and B’, for it begins to move away from characteristics of a traditional lullaby. In the concluding four measures of division C (mm. 384 – 387), Marie sings, “Gibt mir kein Mensch nix dazu!” [Nobody gives me anything!]. The descending triadic theme has now disappeared, and division C is transitioning to division B’ while losing a consistent rhythmic and melodic pattern. Formal divisions B’ and C’ adopted standard practices attributed to Austrian and German Kinderlieder, for the differences in mood and text are communicated in different parts of these divisions, and the musical parameters help to reinforce this separation. Berg ended the lullaby by instilling a mood of the absurd. Many Austrian children songs convey whimsy and relate to animals such as Wo schlafen Bärenkinder [Where do bear children sleep] to appeal to children’s sense of wonder and nature. The concluding metaphor of tending to “sechs Schimmel” [six white horses] represents Marie’s desire for wealth. The ownership of many horses is a status of wealth, and for one to serve them “Lauter kühle Wein” [clear cool wine], indicates an egregious amount of wealth. The scenario she created serves two purposes, for while Marie is singing about horses to appeal to her son, she is also wishing for an escape.


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Conclusion Berg creates a shattered lullaby in Act 1 Scene 3 to represent Marie’s internal conflicts about her love life. She longs to be with the Drum Major, but she has a child to take care of. Throughout the first section, Berg’s metrical shifts help to convey the mood and meaning of the text. The scene is broken down into five formal divisions: A, B, C, B’, and C’, and they trace the progression of the lullaby. Division A begins the section and is in simple quadruple meter. It establishes Marie’s internal conflict and oscillates between her conflicting emotions – love and hate. This is reflected in the constantly changing subdivisions – duple and triple. Division B starts a consistent subdivision in compound duple where the text is firmly unwavering in mood. She laments having a son with no man in her life. The lullaby proper begins in division C at the time signature change to simple triple, and it employs typical lullaby characteristics. Between the dynamic swells starting at pianissimo and descending triadic lines, division C is cemented into place as a proper lullaby. The text in division C is also soothing in nature as Marie praises her son. The lullaby proper section, however, does not last long, and division B’ returns back to compound duple losing the lullaby conventions. The text now is fantastical in nature as Marie uses a metaphor of feeding horses to both appeal to her son sense of fantasy as well as longing for a better life. The lullaby scene concludes at division C’ when it repeats the phrase about feeding the aforementioned horses with the finest wine. Berg’s portrayal of Marie in the lullaby scene reveal the complexities of her character such as her desires, and the changes in meter, text and mood parallel these complexities. Bibliography Arnim, Achim, Ludwig, Brentano, Clemens, & Rölleke, Heinz. Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Alte deutsche Lieder. Stuttgart: Reclam, 1987. Hailey, Christopher. Alban Berg and His World. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2010. McDowell, Maragret. B. “Folk lullabies: Songs of anger, love, and fear,” Women’s Studies 5, no. 2, 1977. Reich, Willi. “A Guide to “Wozzeck”.” The Musical Quarterly 38, no. 1, 1952. Reich, Willi. Alban Berg. Zurich: Atlantis Verlag AG, 1963. Rock, Adrienne, Trainor, Laurel, & Addison, Tami. “Distinctive messages in infant-directed lullabies and play songs,” Developmental Psychology 35, no. 2, 1999. Rothstein, Edward. “Melancholy Times.” New York Times, August 19, 1979. Trehub, Sandra & Trainor, Laurel. “Singing to infants: Lullabies and play songs,” Advances in Infancy Research, 1998. Wahrig Fremdwörterlexikon, 5th ed. Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co, 1984. Further Readings Jarman, Douglas. “The Music of Alban Berg,” University of California Press, 1985. Schmalfeldt, Janet. “Berg’s Wozzeck: Harmonic language and dramatic design,” Yale University Press, 1983. Puffett, Derrick. Berg and German Opera. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 1989.

About the Author Daniel Berry is a senior at Christopher Newport University majoring in Instrumental Music Education and pursuing his master of arts in teaching in 2021. He has been involved in band community at CNU and is both a brother of Kappa Kappa Psi (band service fraternity) and Pi Kappa Lambda (music honor society). He plans to work towards a doctorate in music theory to teach music theory at the collegiate level after finishing his master’s degree at CNU.


“‘Perfecting’ the Human Race” Ashley Burgess Faculty Sponsor: Dr. William Connell, Department of History

Abstract This paper traces attempts to “perfect” the human race by identifying eugenic principles and practices throughout history and analyzing their manifestation in the potential motivations of genome editing through present-day CRISPR-cas9 technology. Throughout this paper, I argue that human beings have consistently exercised power in a way that has aimed to alter the evolution of the human species and make human beings more “desirable.” State policies which were developed in the name of eugenic ideals, particularly coerced and forced sterilization, highlight the use of power to devalue certain lives and to determine some populations to be less “fit” for reproduction. While CRISPR-cas9 offers novel therapeutic potential, the enhancement capabilities which also exist could lead us down a familiar eugenic path. Selective breeding, sterilization, and hygiene of human populations, all which have aimed to alter the human species, have historically plagued our society on a global scale, and with the groundbreaking potential of CRISPR-cas9 technology, that complex history must be applied to ethical guidelines for modern genome editing.


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INTRODUCTION The story of Nana and Lulu, the first-ever babies to be edited as embryos through CRISPR technology, is a tale of innovation, conflict, experimentation, and obscurity. In this case, Chinese scientist He Jiankui performed this experiment, with the stated purpose of disabling a gene which allows for the invasion of HIV (Eschner, 2018). However, other scientists discovered alarming issues with the experimentation done in this case. Researcher Kiran Musunuru of the University of Pennsylvania found that this operation was done without oversight, which he, and presumably many others, found to be entirely unacceptable (Eschner, 2018). Additionally, he found that some of the cells had mutations while others did not, and that some genetic changes were unintended, making the twins vulnerable to invasion and likely to pass down unintended genetic consequences to future generations (Eschner, 2018). In the time since the gene edit, He Jiankui has been anything but transparent about his work. At the Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing in Hong Kong in 2018, He presented his work; however, this presentation involved moving quickly through 60 slides in 20 minutes and presenting minimal data in a way that was too brief to be interpreted (Musunuru, 2019). At this summit, He also claimed that he had just submitted a manuscript with a description of his work to a scientific journal, but he has kept his reports concealed from the public, so this remains undiscovered (Musunuru, 2019). Due to this lack of transparency and the unknown true identities of the twins, who were given the pseudonyms of Nana and Lulu, it is not public knowledge how these children have fared thus far (Musunuru, 2019). He Kiankui was brought to trial last December and He was found guilty of “forging approval documents from ethics review boards” (Regalado, 2019). He will face a 3-year prison sentence in addition to a fine equivalent to $425,000 and will be permanently banned from further involvement in reproductive medicine (Regalado, 2019). The court also found that He “deliberately violated the relevant national regulations on scientific research and medical management” and “rashly applied gene editing technology to human assisted reproductive medicine” (Regalado, 2019). This narrative represents the multi-dimensional complications involved with genetic editing. Of course, there is the issue of unforeseen consequences that simply cannot be predicted or prevented and which result in great potential danger. Additionally, it reveals the ability for scientists to surpass and violate guidelines and limitations outlined by scientific communities, or, to use the dialogue of this piece, “go rogue” (Eschner, 2018). Perhaps more indirectly, it highlights the ability to utilize “science as a tool of national greatness,” and the prioritization of power over ethics while also alluding to the potential to deem certain traits more “desirable” than others (Eschner, 2018). In a society with constantly evolving technological advancements and a growingly complex medical field, the topic of genetic modification is one that cannot possibly be excluded from the narrative. Along with the opportunities for impressive innovation and advancement come potential dangers and ethical dilemmas. Both the benefits and drawbacks involved with such engineering are so extreme, that the dialogue involved is rather complicated. However, it cannot be ignored that the discussions of and movement towards genetic modifications are tainted by remnants of principles of the eugenics movement. The story of the gene-edited twins is merely one manifestation of eugenic principles creating complicated dilemmas in today’s society. The Eugenics movement began as an initiative to rid society of its “ills” (Bentman, 2011). This period was plagued with forced sterilizations and other medical decisions which grossly violated human rights. While the policies and practices of the eugenics movement were framed as medical and scientifically motivated endeavors, they were, in reality, oftentimes motivated by ideas about who was and who was not desirable (Betman, 2011). These policies targeted minorities, the disenfranchised, the poor, the uneducated, and people marginalized for other reasons, therefore assigning these lives a lesser value and labeling them as undesirable (Bentman, 2011). The traits held by these individuals were deemed to be “unfavorable,” and therefore, they


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were deemed unworthy of pro-creation, and as a consequence, unworthy of life itself. Several accounts suggest a pattern of state policy which encourages a strengthening of the race or a perfecting of the human species, with some being far in the past, but other policies reminiscent of eugenic policy having pasts which are not so distant. Selective breeding practices and invasive state policies, including forced sterilizations, share notions of developing an ideal society with favorable traits, and emerging CRISPR-cas9 technology raises concerns of similar manipulation. In a time when the ability to edit human genomes, even in embryos, is more efficient, more precise, and less time-consuming than ever, the potential to design the perfect human and chart our evolutionary course must be fully understood. Motivations to perfect the human race, which served as a foundation for the eugenics movement, have manifested themselves throughout time in different policies and now reappear with the new technologies of genetic engineering. HISTORY OF EUGENICS In the mid-nineteenth century in a monastery in Moravia, Gregor Mendel began studying pea plants and found that cross-breeding vegetables led to predictable results (Markfield, p. 18). Mendel’s work focused on manipulating plants in order to provide the greatest benefit to humans (Markfield, p. 18) Mendel, along with some others of the time, showed the possibility for manipulating plant and animal characteristics (Markfield, p. 18). Mendel’s work did not receive much attention during his life, but after his death, his work reappeared in the works of scientists, perhaps most notably, Charles Darwin (Markfield, p. 19). Mendel’s work eventually became the basis for a science which had a goal of perfecting humanity (Markfield, p. 19). Darwin’s work and theories about evolution in The Origin of Species prompted reactions on a global scale and, especially, from his cousin, Francis Galton, who had studied the passing of traits through generations (Markfield, p. 19). Darwin’s work led Galton to understand that if we could essentially select breeds of animals, we could similarly produce a gifted human race through intentionally thoughtful marriages through generations (Markfield, p. 19). Galton was fascinated with statistics, categorization, and family trees, and he began to dedicate all of his work towards discovering how to improve the human race, a study he named “eugenics” in 1883 (Markfield p. 19). From the 1880s, eugenics grew substantially, reaching its peak in the 1920s (Levine, 2010, p. 4). While some focuses of eugenic thinkers focused on positive eugenic methods such as intentional marriages, negative eugenic, or preventative methods were utilized as well. Eugenicist goals were fulfilled in many different manners around the globe. Some methods aimed to prevent life that was undesirable, through sterilizations and segregation, for example; some aimed to generate life that was desirable, with pronatalism, for example; and some even ended life, as with euthanasia (Levine, 2010, p.3). While the means differed, eugenics “became a shared language and ambition in cultures and locations that were otherwise radically different” (Levine, 2010, p. 4) In various places throughout the world, policies and practices for designing the human race commenced, some in the name of eugenics, and others strongly mirroring the movement’s principles. Among these principles were that certain elements of a human’s nature were more valuable than others, and that the human race would benefit by a manipulation of the natural order in order to perpetuate favorable traits. In attempts to reach these goals, states instituted legislation and programs and took part in various movements and projects, to come closer to reaching some desired state of human condition. STERILIZATION AND EUGENIC POLICY Across the globe, there is a dark history of unethical, nonconsensual sterilization practices. These sterilization practices have been utilized in order to take away a woman’s reproductive agency. Sterilizations have taken place in the form of authorized government programs,


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and also in an unauthorized manner. What the vast majority of sterilizations have in common, though, is the motivations which target disenfranchised and marginalized communities, calling certain individuals “unfit” for reproduction. Such dangerous policies have not been limited to any particular place or time period, but have spread throughout the years and across the globe. Priti Patel noted in Public Health Reviews in 2017 that recent instances of coerced or forced sterilization had been documented in many countries within Europe, North America, South America, Africa, and Asia (Patel, 2017, p. 2). Again, these instances were presented as issues of public health, but are utilized to target and take advantage of “women living with HIV, women who are ethnic and racial minorities, women with disabilities, and poor women, among others” (Patel, 2017, p. 2). This research explains how these practices label “population groups deemed unworthy of procreation” (Patel, 2017, p. 3). Patel discusses the way that forced and coerced sterilizations violated the international human rights of “the right to health; the right to information; the right to liberty and security of the person; the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment; and the right to [non-discrimination and equality] (Patel, 2017, p. 4). United States In the United States, the eugenics movement took place during a period of transition during industrialization (Bentman, 2011, p. 15). This period of huge and rapid change created a rift within society, with many living with great wealth, but many living in poverty (Bentman, 2011, p. 15). Following a huge economic depression, the country faced high levels of unemployment, crime, and prostitution (Bentman, 2011, p. 15). This led to the rise of a group of individuals who came to be known as Progressives, who “viewed society as a sick patient” (Bentman, 2011. P. 15). These reformers sought to interfere in order to fix societal ills, but methods for doing so varied (Bentman, 2011, p. 16). While some of these methods involved adaptations to environmental programs, settlement houses, a focus on rights and educational reform, some routes towards a solution were much more dangerous (Bentman, 2011, p. 16). In many ways, the United States stood at the forefront of eugenics in the way that they applied eugenic policies in order to solve social problems (Grodin, 2018, p. 53). Cecelia Brueggemann of the University of Missouri conducted a study to investigate “anxieties regarding poverty and reproduction” which led to sterilization of poor African American women in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s (Brueggemann, 2016, p. 2). Brueggemann discusses how individuals in power, particularly, members of the government and physicians, were able to manipulate systems and develop laws in which women were marginalized and undesirable populations could be diminished. She links her discussion to history’s timeline by noting that pronatalism in the 1950s encouraged white members of the middle class to marry and have babies as a way of “strengthening the race” (Brueggemann, 2016, p. 3). Many people would come to support population control, believing that reproduction of the poor was a threat to the nation’s stability (Brueggemann, 2016, p. 5). These inhumane beliefs were even manifested within organizations. For example, the group Sterilization League of New Jersey has changed names and official mission statements multiple times in an attempt to distance itself from its own eugenic past, but still maintained its “eugenic legacy” and discriminatory ideals (Brueggemann, 2016, p. 6). Brueggemann writes that during a period of turmoil within the United States, African American women were made to be scapegoats (Brueggemann, 2016, p. 1). The biases and cyclical nature of the obstacles facing these women was severe and the judgements applied and the ignorance to circumstance reveal the biases and injustices embedded in eugenic thinking. Additionally, and quite recently, Charles Murray’s 1994 book, The Bell Curve, dives into American public policy and Yglesias claims that “Murrayism” (the ideology backed in this work) is harmful and is at the core of the United States political agenda (Yglesias, 2018). Murray


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holds that providing aid to the economically disadvantaged “encourages poor, low-IQ women to have more children,” and also claims that this is highly problematic (Yglesias, 2018). Yglesias criticizes the claims made in this work because Murray’s idea that “poor families deserve less help than they get because they are a cognitively disadvantaged group who will respond to assistance via overbreeding that undermines the quality of the national stock” (Yglesias, 2018). He also denies the justification of these ideas as actual science and understands Murray’s narrative to be “a tract proposing the comprehensive revision of the American welfare state along eugenicist lines” (Yglesias, 2018). He writes that “Murray-style” thinking is prominent within American politics today, and he finds this to be particularly relevant with discussions on immigration (Yglesias, 2018). Immigration discussions often contain coded language which leads to the labeling and Othering of certain groups of peoples. These policies and debates are often visibly linked to notions of desirability. Immigration policy has been linked to “eugenic pseudoscience” through an analysis of immigration controversies (Tyner, 1999). Here, the importance of group identity developed through segregation is underscored (Tyner, 1999). The interconnectedness of “race” and “nation” are also developed, which can strongly relate to the manner in which individuals determine certain traits and characteristics to be favorable. (Tyner, 1999). This breakdown of political ideas reveals a tendency to look at problems which may result from circumstantial misfortune or systemic oppression and relate it to genetics, and then to use that faulty understanding to assign value to certain people. The discussion of immigration in particular is remnant of some eugenicist-driven notions of the 1900s in the United States. By 1914, following a period with an influx of 12 million immigrants into the United States, a fear of unchecked immigration developed (Markfield, 2019, p. 22). The country was facing conflict as a result of changes such as labor unions, new political theories, and technology-driven change, which threatened the stability of the nation (Markfield, 2019, p. 22). In a period of uncertainty, much of the American society was fearful of increased immigration from countries it determined were “less desirable” (Markfield, 2019, p. 22). The United States Congress had Harry Laughlin, a eugenicist, appear and discuss the connection which existed between eugenics and immigration policy (Markfield, 2019, p. 23). Laughlin believed that the greatest danger facing the United States was that allowing “undesirable” into the country would “compromise the purity of Anglo-Saxon blood.” He explained that this purity was necessary to avoid promiscuity, fertility, and stupidity which would come with race-mixing and that allowing people of “a lower race” to have children would be “race suicide” (Markfield, 2019, p. 22). The idea that there is a lower race of human beings and the idea that they possessed undesirable traits which led to undesirable behaviors is very much eugenic in principle. Nazi Germany In Nazi Germany, eugenic ideals were used to justify euthanasia, sterilizations, and genocide (Grodin, 2018, p. 53). The story of Nazi Germany may be the most infamous and extensive instance of a state taking drastic efforts to satisfy eugenic principles. This party intended to purify the state and did so through the devaluation of certain portions of the community (Grodin, 2018, p. 53). Hitler’s support for eugenic theory was quite clear, and the period following World War I saw the open discussion and legislative support of sterilization of the “unfit” (Grodin, 2018 p. 54). Compulsory sterilization became official policy after Hitler took power (Grodin, 2018, p. 54). The “Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring” was enacted in 1933 and required people with “conditions” determined to be hereditary diseases to be sent to Hereditary Health Courts where a decision for sterilization would be made (Grodin, 2018, p. 54). Between 1933 and 1939, over 360,000 people were sterilized through force and against their will (Grodin, 2018, p. 54).


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While forced sterilizations were one method utilized by the Nazi party, another involved the practice of “Euthanasia” (Grodin, 2018, p. 54). Euthanasia, which is understood today to be a mercy killing of a suffering patient, was utilized in the Third Reich as “a program of State-sponsored medicalized mass murder” (Grodin, 2018, p. 54). Nazi Germany initiated this racial hygeine program in order to purify Germany’s Aryan population and eliminate the “unfit” (Grodin, 2018, p. 54). Between 200,000 and 300,000 individuals were killed under the Euthanasia program (Grodin, 2018, p. 54). Some of the practices which were adopted into the Nazi euthanasia program came from a book written by German jurist, Karl Binding as well as German psychiatrist, Alfred Hoche (Grodin, 2018, p. 54). This book, Die Freigabe der Vernichtung Lebensunwertes Lebens (Permitting the Destruction of Life Unworthy of Living), drew on the ideas of Social Darwinism as well as eugenics and supported the idea that “the burden on society by having to care for these individuals was too high and their human status too low, that the appropriate solution was the killing of these populations” (Grodin, 2018, p. 54). An important component in this case is the medical fields’ participation in genocide, since by 1933, over half of the medical profession in Germany belonged to the Nazi Party (Grodin, 2018, p. 53). Many of these individuals used public health as a facade for carrying out what was called Rassenhygiene, or racial hygiene (Grodin, 2018, p. 53). Many of these professionals were involved in the murders of Jews, Roma, and Sinti, along with mentally ill, disabled persons, and those deemed “unfit” under Rassenhygiene (Grodin, 2018, p. 53). The integration of doctors into the Nazi Party gave the German state enhanced control through which they could accomplish those eugenic motivations of perfecting the human race. By classifying people, predominantly Jews, as unfit, Nazis “claimed to be cleansing Germany of the hereditarily imperfect and the weak” (Grodin, 2018, p 53). Nazi physicians were portrayed to be curing a racial sickness which threatened the Volkskörper (Grodin, 2018, p. 53). Consequently, with such a large number of doctors involved in the Nazi Party, Nazi ideology could be medicalized. With the present day advancements which predict the ability to design the human race by editing genes in the name of science and medicine, a similar position of power and capability for medical professionals and scientists is recognizable. Romani Women in Czechoslovakia A study of Romani women in Europe illustrates an extensive timeline of gross violations of civil rights and basic human dignity. Roma or Romani are a people who originated in northern India and now are largely located in Europe and the Americas (Lallanilla, 2013). Roma women have continuously been persecuted and discriminated against. The European Roma Rights Centre published a report to bring to light the abuses endured by Romani women who have been victims of coerced sterilizations (Rorke, 2017). This report specifically focuses on Czechoslovakia’s government-sponsored eugenics program which has contributed significantly to unconsented sterilizations even beyond the time period of the program’s support (Rorke, 2017). The testimony of a twenty-six-year-old woman named Jana illustrates one of the many instances of life-altering abuse (Rorke, 2017). Two days after her delivery by C-section, she was told she needed to have a surgery to fix loose stitches, but she was actually sterilized (Rorke, 2017). In her testimony she stated the following: After ten days in hospital, I was given some forms and told that I should go to see a social worker with them in order to get some money. I had no idea what the money was for, I thought it was for having my stitches done twice, but the social worker told me I was sterilised. I didn’t know what it meant so she explained it to me, and also that they are not giving money for it anymore. I had to take it normally, what other option did I have? I was totally dumbfounded, that they’ve done that… Without saying a word.” (Rorke, 2017). In 1970, a decree in communist Czechoslovakia made it legally sanctioned for


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public authorities to sterilize women without their fully informed consent (Rorke, 2017). The sterilization directive was motivated by the goal of “control[ing] the highly unhealthy Roma population through family planning and contraception” (Rorke, 2017). This wording seems to stray from the reality of their actions, since the coercion and deceit involved allowed no planning on behalf of the women. Even after the directive was abolished, these sterilizations continued until at least 2007 (Rorke, 2017). Another Roma woman named Olga describes the feared social worker, called by the pseudonym Marcová, who utilized coercion in order to force women to have sterilizations. As an agent of the state, Marcová would threaten families and lie to women about the nature of sterilizations. Olga stated the following: They [the non-Roma] wanted us to become extinct, not to have any more children. She didn’t like the Roma people, but she knew each one of us, by name, she came straight to the flat, didn’t even have to knock or ask for permission. (Rorke, 2017). The Roma women were continuously targeted and discriminated against by the Czechoslavakian state. Agents of the state took advantage of women who were already made vulnerable due to oppression, violating reproductive rights and stealing their agency. These acts, permitted and even promoted by the government, sought to define Roma women as less than desirable women with lives of little value. China

An analysis of some other state policies allows us to uncover language or acts which may not be understood as directly eugenic, but are consistent with some eugenic ideals. For instance, Yuehsten Juliette Chung looks at the way that China has exercised control and interference over its people in the name of “racial improvement” (Chung, 2014). She explains the way that eugenic ideas worked themselves into language, society, and politics to become relevant in population control (Chung, 2014). Chinese eugenicist, Pan Guangdam, identified elements that he found most useful, including intelligence, moral decency, good physique, all of which connected themselves with the upper-middle class (Chung, 2014). Guangdam, and others, seemed to strongly emphasize the conditions and standards of China as a whole, taking a rather nationalistic approach. Efforts were made to increase the quality of the population in order to satisfy some national standard. Such efforts, particularly in Communist China, led to rural women being forced to abort and the mentally disabled being forcibly sterilized (Chung, 2014). Policies and practices that may be painted as national health protections could actually be violations or obstructions of the body which are grounded in notions of eugenics and Social Darwinism (Chung, 2014). Chung recognizes shifts in discourse, for example, the “one-child policy” promoted the idea of superior birth led to a division between rural and urban population in terms of accessibility to health care, and has also led to “increased pursuit of technological aids” (Chung, 2014). The notion of a superior birth, and whether that is something we should aim for, exists as a discussion topic of the CRISPR innovation. Aboriginals of Australia Eugenics influenced policy of the Australian government for a significant portion of the twentieth century (Faulkner, 2014). During this period, Aboriginal, or indigenous Australian children were taken away from their families for purposes that were both eugenic and assimilationist (Faulkner, 2014). These policies, which were in effect from 1909-1969, targeted children who were of mixed-descent and were believed to have a better chance for assimilation, as compared to the “full-blooded” Aborigines who “would eventually die out due to genetic unfitness” (Faulkner, 2014). These mixed-race children were brought to training and industrial schools, orphanages, reformatories, and foster homes without the permission of their parents and with no contact or information about their families (Faulkner, 2014). The policies aimed


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to remove children from their original homes to relocate them to a place where they could easily assimilate and their “genetic absorption into the white gene pool” could be ensured (Faulkner, 2014). The legislation instituting these policies existed in conjunction with the White Australia Policy of 1901-1966 which only allowed immigration for British and Northern European migrants in order to work towards a goal of “whiteness in Australia” (Faulkner, 2014). Once the indiginous individuals were under the power of the state, it was even easier for the state to prohibit the coupling of certain people while encouraging the coupling of others (Faulkner, 2014). The story of Archie Roach displays the pain endured by some of these indigenous Australian children. Archie was taken from his house in southeastern Australia when he was just three years old (McCarthy, 2000). His aunt tried to fight off the welfare officer who took him, but she was unsuccessful (McCarthy, 2000). Archie was told that a fire killed his family and the boy was institutionalized in an orphanage, where his guardians tried to make him look “more white” by forcing his hair straight (McCarthy, 2000). Archie was just one of around 100,000 Aboriginal children of the “Stolen Generation” who were stolen from their families in an attempt to “civilize” them. These policies were considered by the Australian state to be justified for controlling “miscegenation,” or inter-racial breeding (Faulkner, 2014). Dr. Cecil Cook, who was the Chief Protector of the indigenous people, but was very supportive of the processes of controlling population and regulating reproduction stated, “the problem of our half-castes will quickly be eliminated by the complete disappearance of the black race, and the swift submergence of their progeny in the white” (Faulkner, 2014). By segregating “half-breeds” and “full-breeds” and uprooting the lives of indigenous children in order to situate them in a new place, the objective is for certain undesirable genes to disappear. This case in Australia represents the autonomy exercised by the state to control populations of people and manipulate the course of their evolution. State policy was designed and carried out in order to diminish the existence of a group of people determined by Dr. Cook to be an “incalculable menace” (Faulkner, 2014). Children were removed from their own homes and separated from their families to fulfil this state goal. The terminology used in this case paints the indigenous population to be one of little value to the state and closely mirrors some of the most foundational eugenic principles of genetic manipulation in order to produce a more desirable race. These various policies and instances of state-supported efforts to achieve a desirable population are inherently eugenic. A pattern existent throughout is that people in positions of power, oftentimes in government or medicine, are able to exercise control over the population, and not just the population which exists at that present time, but the future population as well. These policies often targeted the more vulnerable and underprivileged members of society, exploiting and violating them for the “improvement” of the society. Consequently, certain groups of people have been treated as less-than-human because they were believed to be unfit in some way. Achieving a goal of a favorable human race requires the labeling of certain characteristics as undesirable, and, furthermore requires the labeling of certain people as undesirable. A string of complications throughout history has shown a lasting desire to make better humans. CRISPR IMPLICATIONS In a TedTalk, Jennifer Doudna, co-inventor of the CRISPR-cas9 technology calls for a global conversation in order to consider the implications, both societal and ethical, of this technology (Doudna, 2015). She urges that we “take a prudent path forward in the way that we employ this technology” (Doudna, 2015). Doudna also advises that we take a pause on applying CRISPR technology to human embryos in order to consider implications (Doudna, 2015). Revolutionary technology allowing us to make drastic changes to human beings before


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they are even born is not the future, but has become the present. Extensive consideration and investigation must be devoted to understanding just exactly how we will change once these technologies are implemented As Doudna explains, this technology can “potentially achieve astounding things, like being able to correct mutations that cause sickle cell anemia or cause Huntington’s Disease” (Doudna, 2015). Along with therapeutic capabilities, which could undoubtedly result in health benefits and developments, come enhancement capabilities which could bring more unpredictable consequences. This branching into the realm of enhancement will likely be the source of the majority of ethical dilemmas and debates. There is the potential for a slippery slope when it comes to genetic modification of human beings. As demonstrated with the story of twins, Nana and Lulu, the unpredictability of genome editing can be dangerous. Additionally, as seen with He Jiankui, there is a potential for scientists to go rogue and perform edits without the consent, or even the knowledge of others. Whether we will be creating “designer babies” is not certain, but it is safe to predict that once these innovative tools are put into practice and we begin the process of altering the human genome, it will be difficult to know where to draw the line and nearly impossible to go back. Also important to consider is the well-being and equality of the people following the utilization of such technology. If genome editing were to become a component of medical practice, there would automatically be a question of accessibility. Even with this method, which would be designed with the purpose of improving humans, we have to wonder whether every group within society would have equal access to such procedures, and how access would be determined. Similar issues could begin to take place, going in many different directions. For one, finances could restrict access to CRISPR modifications, resulting in marginalized populations of lower economic status being left without the possibility of ensuring that their children will be “desirable,” putting a lower value on that life which would not be “genetically improved.” On the other hand, perhaps the use of CRISPR would lead to marginalized individuals being pushed to participate in order to prevent undesirable traits which they may be accused of possessing. What will actually occur is unpredictable. What is inevitable, however, is that the judgement of qualities as favorable and unfavorable will be utilized in working towards the perfect humans. CONCLUSION The eugenics movement was rooted in principles which have resonated globally and have been embedded in various state policies and actions for over a century. Many tragedies and violations have been carried out in the name of improving our species. We, as a human race, constantly feel the urge to define value in our own terms and to shape our existence around those values. Although genetic modification offers great advantages, the tragedies and inequities that have been brought upon people on a global scale due to eugenic thinking, as well as the similarities that can be drawn between the two, warn us that we ought to approach this issue with great caution. As Jennifer Doudna warns, “this is no longer science fiction.” The future is upon us, and the ability to pioneer a new path for this future comes with great responsibility. The new possibilities that have emerged with this scientific breakthrough are unprecedented, but the eugenicist thinking which may result is far from new. Our impulse to always want to create something better has become bound in our practices. With the rise of CRISPR technology, there is the potentiality to see a resurgence of eugenic principles, as the motivation to create the most desirable population perpetuates.


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References Bentman, H. (2011). California nightmares: Why the golden state became the epicenter of the american eugenics movement (Order No. 10157072). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1825398837). Retrieved from https://0-search-proquest-com.read. cnu.edu/docview/1825398837?accountid=10100 Brueggemann, C. S. (2016). Permanent solution: Contraceptive sterilization policies and practices in the U.S. from 1960 to 1979 (Order No. 10002328). Available from ProQuest Central; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1758656833). Retrieved from https://0-search-proquest-com.read.cnu.edu/docview/1758656833?accountid=10100 Chung, Y. (2014). Better Science and Better Race?: Social Darwinism and Chinese Eugenics. Isis, 105(4), 793-802. doi:10.1086/679426 Doudna, J. (2015). How CRISPR lets us edit our DNA. [Video file] Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_doudna_how_crispr_lets_us_edit_our_dna/ transcript?language=en#t-458559 Eschner, K. (2018). Scientists ‘went rogue’ and genetically engineered two human babies--or at least claimed to. Popular Science. Retreived from https://www.popsci.com/crisprtwin-babies-genetic-engineering/ Faulkner, J. (2014, July 29). Stolen Generations. Retrieved from http://eugenicsarchive.ca/ discover/tree/53d8321a4c879d0000000012 Grodin, M. A., Miller, E. L, Kelly, J. I. (2018). The Nazi Physicians as Leaders in Eugenics and “Euthanasia”: Lessons for Today. American Journal of Public Health. 108(1): 53-57. Retrieved from https://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=2b65759d7e1c-47ff-9a9e-aac5dee41b97%40pdc-v-sessmgr06&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3Q tbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=126645371&db=c8h Lallanilla, M. (2013). 5 Intriguing Facts About the Roma. Live Science. Retrieved from https:// www.livescience.com/40652-facts-about-roma-romani-gypsies.html Levine, P., Bashford, A. (2010). The Oxford Handbook of The History of Eugenics. Oxford University Press, Inc. Markfield, M. H. (2019). A More Perfect Union: Eugenics in America. NAELA Journal, 15, 17-37. Retrieved from https://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/ pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=82f246f7-d623-47ea-b756-df6afb09d243%40pdc-v-sessmgr02 McCarthy, T. (2000). The Stolen Generation. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Vol. 156, Issue 14. Retrieved from https://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/ detail?vid=1&sid=15859524-cd25-438b-8992-341ceba80d8e%40pdc-v-sessmgr01 &bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=3613364&db=pbh Musunuru, K. (2019). Opinion: We need to know what happened to CRISPR twins Lulu and Nana. MIT Technology Review. Retrieved from https://www.technologyreview. com/2019/12/03/65024/crispr-baby-twins-lulu-and-nana-what-happened/ Patel, P. (2017). Forced sterilization of women as discrimination. Public Health Reviews. Retrieved from https://0-search-proquest-com.read.cnu.edu/docview/1926342254/ fulltextPDF/981AA6F7032D453CPQ/6?accountid=10100 Regalado, A. (2019). He Jiankui faces three years in prison for CRISPR babies. MIT Technology Review. Retrieved from https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/12/30/131061/ he-jiankui-sentenced-to-three-years-in-prison-for-crispr-babies/ Rorke, B., Szilvasi, M. (2017). Racism’s cruelest cut: coercive sterilisation of Romani women and their fight for justice in the Czech Republic (1966-2016). Open Democracy. Retrieved from https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/can-europe-make-it/racisms-cruelest-cutcoercive-sterilization-of-roman/


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Tyner, J. (1999). The Geopolitics of Eugenics and the Exclusion of Philippine Immigrants from the United States. Geographical Review, 89(1), 54-73. doi:10.2307/216140 Yglesias, M. (2018). The Bell Curve is about policy. And it’s wrong. Vox. Retrieved from https:// www.vox.com/2018/4/10/17182692/bell-curve-charles-murray-policy-wrong

About the Author Ashley Burgess is a rising senior from Virginia Beach, Virginia. She is a member of the Honors Program and the President’s Leadership Program with a major in Political Science and minors in Leadership Studies and Sociology. In addition to being passionate about her academics, Ashley is involved on campus as a member of the women’s volleyball team and as the New Member Director of her sorority, Phi Mu. She also works as a research fellow for the Wason Center, as a Building Supervisor, and was an Orientation Leader for the class of 2022. Ashley is very grateful for the opportunities CNU has given her to learn from inspiring professors, coaches, and mentors, and to work alongside talented students.


“‘We Post Pictures to Prove We Are Best Friends’: iGen Friendship Characteristics and Maintenance Strategies” Alyssa Cole, Kennedy Johnson, Margaret McPherson, Riley Redd, Mackenzie Regen, Sydney Shaw Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Linda Manning, Department of Communication

Abstract This mixed methods study assesses how iGen experience high school and college friendships. Researchers administered an online survey to 109 undergraduates to test relational maintenance strategies, friendship satisfaction, and friendship solidarity. Results revealed that in high school friendships, most maintenance strategies are positively correlated with satisfaction and solidarity. In college friendships, all maintenance strategies, satisfaction, and solidarity are positively correlated. Semi-structured interviews with 23 undergraduates yielded three themes: origin stories, characteristics of friends, and maintenance strategies. Similarities and differences between high school and college friendships are discussed. Keywords: High school friendship, college friendship, relational maintenance strategies, solidarity, satisfaction


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William Rawlins (1992) defines a close friend as “somebody to talk to, to depend on and rely on for help, support, and caring, and to have fun and enjoy doing things with” (p. 271). Friendships predict well-being and life enjoyment (Demir, Orthel-Clark, Ozedemir, & Ozedemir, 2015). The quality and quantity of early life social interactions can predict happiness, loneliness, and depression up to 30 years later (Carmichael, Reis, & Duberstein, 2015). People acquire friends throughout many developmental stages of life. Throughout lifespan, friendships are lost, gained, and most importantly maintained. One specific time in an individual’s life when friendships are maintained is the transition from high school to college. The context of friendships changes from high school to college. The first year of college is a prominent turning point for many as it involves moving away from home, making independent decisions, and developing a new social group. The transition to college can be a very stressful time for adolescents. While some may rely on family, many will rely on their friends for support during this adjustment period. The purpose of this study is to examine how iGen emerging adults who have transitioned to college experience friendship in high school and college. This paper attempts to add to the previous research surrounding high school and college friendships by gaining a better understanding of how high school friendships differ from college friendships after the transition to college. In this paper, we address previous literature regarding traits of both high school and college friendships, solidarity, satisfaction, and technological influences on friendship maintenance strategies. After a review of past research, we discuss quantitative and qualitative methods used to see how high school friendships differ from college friendships. We end with the discussion of the quantitative and qualitative findings, limitations, and directions for future research. Traits of Friendship High school friendships occur during adolescence, in which there is a reflexive relationship between self-awareness and formation of interpersonal friendships (Kandel, 1978; Rawlins, 1992). Background and identity are central to high school friendship formation. Miller and Hoicowitz (2004) determined that children’s relationships with their mothers greatly affected their adolescent friendship quality and length. Additionally, adolescent friends are “typically the same age, gender, race, grade in school, and social status [and] tend to share fundamental values and similar attitudes toward academic pursuits, peer culture, and illicit activities” (Rawlins, 1992, p. 65). Cross-sex friendships emerge with the onset of puberty, but adolescent relationships are still primarily same-sex because of complications from romantic and sexual involvement (Rawlins, 1992). Rawlins (1992) examines the tension between popularity and friendship. He notes that peer culture is central to both male and female adolescent relationships. In adolescence, female friendships are more intimate and involved, featuring loyalty and commitment, which often cause jealousy and exclusivity (Rawlins, 1992). Male friendships are activity-based, allowing for less disclosure but more inclusivity and enjoyment of a mutually loved activity within adolescent peer groups (Rawlins, 1992). Behavior is another component in peer culture. In particular, researchers have found that adolescent friends have a strong influence over marijuana and alcohol use (Kam, Figueroa-Caballero, & Basinger, 2016; Kandel, 1978). New friendships are often formed in the transition from high school to college. McEwan and Guerrero (2010) explain that the transition from high school to college is one of the biggest transitions someone undergoes. This transition brings a lot of adjustments to a person’s social life. Friendships are built during this transition to create a platform for success in this new environment (McEwan & Guerrero, 2010). According to Yang and Ayers (2014), age plays a part in the formation of new friendships. The personal experiences, background that each has experienced, and current life circumstances all influence the formation of friendship (Yang & Ayers, 2014). After these friendships have been established, maintaining and growing


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the friendship becomes the new priority. McEwan and Guerrero (2010) highlight the importance of the level of investment that is placed on these relationships so that the friendship is successful and maintained. McEwan, Sumner, Eden and Fletcher (2018) further explain that social contact and relational assurances have a positive association for the overall satisfaction of the friendship while response seeking has a negative association with the satisfaction of the friendships. McEwan and colleagues (2018) demonstrate that friendships are not limited to distance, which impacts the friendships formed in college. This understanding of characteristics of friendship and friendship development in adolescence and emerging adulthood led us to the following research questions: RQ1: How do iGen emerging adults initiate friendships? RQ2: What qualities do iGen emerging adults value in their close friendships? Friendship Solidarity Friendship solidarity refers to feelings of closeness or being a part of an ingroup (Wheeless, 1976). It involves similarities of characteristics (age, attitudes, occupation), close physical space or status, pleasant sentiments (liking, loving, attraction, sympathy, trust), behaviors (cooperation, confiding in each other, beneficent actions), and symbolic expressions. Wheeless (1976) found that solidarity is positively associated with self-disclosure. He concluded that solidarity unites perceptions of trust, liking, loving, interaction, disclosure, influence, empathy. Bell and Healey (1992) also found an association between communication and solidarity. They found that personal idioms, or personalized communication, are positively associated with solidarity. In addition, how people interact with others influences solidarity (Cupach & Messman, 1999). Interactions are negotiated using face. Positive face giving is when the interaction supports and affirms others’ perception of self and negative face giving is when the interaction respects the others’ need for autonomy. Cupach and Messman (1999) found that solidarity was higher when partners reported giving positive face. They also found that there was no correlation in negative face giving and solidarity in same sex male friendships, meaning that males do not account for autonomy in determining solidarity. The type of friendship also influences perceived solidarity. Myers and Johnson (2014) examined three types of friendships in organizations: informational peer, collegial peer, and special peer, with each level increasing in emotional and social support. They found that solidarity is lowest in informational peers, and highest in special peers. They concluded that as people engage in more activities, they make more positive judgements and report greater closeness, which results in greater solidarity (Myers & Johnson, 2014). Based on our understanding of this important dimension of friendship, we pose the following research questions: RQ3a: How do maintenance strategies utilized by college friendships affect feelings of solidarity? RQ3b: How do maintenance strategies utilized by high school friendships affect feelings of solidarity? Friendship Satisfaction Friendship satisfaction is an important factor in determining life satisfaction and adjustment (Buote, Pancer, Pratt, Adams, Birnie-Lefcovitch, Polivy, & Wintre, 2007; Demir & Weitekamp, 2007; Heller, Watson, & Ilies, 2004). Therefore, in order to live a full and contented life, it is important to maintain satisfying relationships (Wilson, Harris, & Vazire, 2015). Oswald, Clark, and Kelly (2004) demonstrated the association between maintenance behaviors and friendship satisfaction. Oswald and Clark (2003) believe communication to be a central role to friendship satisfaction due to individuals reporting no decrease in satisfaction when they communicate more frequently with their best friend. Specifically, self-disclosing communication is an important factor in friendship satisfaction, maintenance, and commitment


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(Oswald & Clark, 2003). For example, the more communication between friends the more likely they are to remain best friends; the less communication between friends, the more likely they are to experience a decrease in satisfaction, rewards, and commitment. Past research has also shown personality characteristics to be predictors of friendship satisfaction, specifically extraversion and agreeableness (Belsky, Jaffee, Caspi, Moffitt, & Silva, 2003; Demir & Weitekamp, 2007; Jensen-Campbell, Rosselli, Workman, Santisi, Rios, & Bojan, 2002; Newcomb, Bukowski, & Pattee, 1993; Stopfer, Egloff, Nestler, & Back, 2013). Understanding how personality traits influence friendship satisfaction is one step into knowing who has satisfying friendships and why. The quantity of social interaction with friends is a potential explanation for why certain personality traits are related to friendship satisfaction (Wilson et al., 2015). Not only is the quantity of social interaction of predictor but the quality of social interactions might also explain how personality traits are associated with friendship satisfaction due to better interactions with their friends (Wilson et al., 2015). Technological Influences on Friendship Maintenance Strategies All relationships require some sort of maintenance (Canary, Stafford, Hause, & Wallace, 1993) but because friendships are voluntary and flexible (McEwan & Guerrero, 2012) they require different maintenance strategies than other types of relationships. Therefore, friendships require more maintenance to avoid loss of communication channels (McEwan et al., 2018). In order to maintain a relationship both partners have to be able to communicate with each other (Canary & Dainton, 2014). The rise of social media has made it easier to communicate with geographically distant friends. Johnson (2001) found that geographically close friends actually report more maintenance strategies then geographically distant friends. While there is a difference in the amount of maintenance behaviors, there is no difference in the amount of satisfaction or closeness (Johnson, 2001). Research shows that as geographical distance increases the levels of communication decrease; social media gives a sense of permanence to friendships (Koban & Krßger, 2018; Standlee, 2019). For example, the most common use of Facebook is to communicate with friends. Behaviors used on Facebook relate to five categories of relational maintenance: positivity/openness; assurances; posts, messages, or chats; joint activities; and surveillance (McEwan et al., 2018). However, the types of channels and behaviors enacted are determined by the emotional closeness of the friends. Self-identified close friends tend to participate in direct forms of communication, like assurances or messages. While those who are not so close use surveillance behaviors. Surveillance, much like lurking, is when individuals gather information by looking at what people post without interacting with them (Koban & Krßger, 2018; McEwan et al., 2018). These behaviors for relational maintenance fall under the three categories of the Facebook Relational Maintenance Measure (FRMM). The first category is social contact, which is relational maintenance that focuses on communication with a specific friend. A second category is relational assurances, which are messages that emphasize the user’s commitment to sustain the relationship. A third are response-seeking behaviors, which involve sending mass messages to a large list of friends. This way of seeking responses is a way of attempting to maintain a friendship. Research done on the relational quality of friendships in relation to these behaviors has shown that social contact has the highest positive impact on satisfaction, commitment, closeness, and liking. Coming in a close second is relational assurances, which has positive effects on satisfaction and commitment. While both of these personalized methods of maintenance are beneficial, response-seeking has been proven to negatively affect satisfaction, liking, and closeness due to the lack of personalization (McEwan et al., 2018). Furthermore, each type of friendship needs a different set of maintenance strategies to meet the level of commitment and satisfaction to keep the level of friendship. Not only does social media contribute to the maintenance of friendships, but it is seen


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as useful for their formation. Friendships are voluntary and more flexible than other relationships; because of this, technology provides another channel for communication maintenance (McEwan et al., 2018). In a world where technology controls most of what we do in our lives, it is no wonder that many friendships lean on social networking sites. Arguably, technology is crucial for the formation and maintenance of relationships, especially for college students. For college students, social media and friendships have shown to be the basis of life-long social networks, that contribute to learning social norms, exposure to ideas, and access to social capital (Standlee, 2019). While individuals with similar interests or attitudes are drawn closer in face-to-face interactions, technology-mediated friendships can be created more quickly and more efficiently. Due to this, there is a rise in online social interactions affecting those offline (Standlee, 2019). Online behaviors influence whether or not people engage offline. For example, if someone posts opinions with which you disagree online, then you will probably not talk to them in person. People are motivated to talk offline if they believe the other person is safe and has the same social and political beliefs (Standlee, 2019). Social media allows for the gathering of information with minimal contact in order to determine if you want to continue a friendship and to maintain contacts with others (Standlee, 2019). Technology works in many ways to form friendships throughout a person’s lifetime and work to help actively maintain these. This understanding of friendship maintenance behaviors and technology led us to the following research questions: RQ4: What strategies do emerging adults use to maintain close friendships? RQ5: In what ways do college friendships differ from high school friendships in relational closeness and maintenance strategies? Method Methodological Design To fully investigate how emerging adults experience friendship, we conducted a mixed-method project. To gain an emic perspective on how iGen emerging adults develop and maintain friendships through high school and college, we developed a semi-structured interview protocol. To understand differences in friendships at these two life stages, we developed an online survey, which was a synthesis of three well-established measures. Participants Participants in the quantitative portion of the study were 109 undergraduate students at a medium liberal arts university. They ranged in age from 18 to 23 years old (M = 19.77, SD =1.11). Sixteen participants were freshmen, 35 were sophomores, 34 were juniors, and 24 were seniors. Of the 109 participants, 77 participants were female, 31 were male, and 1 was nonbinary. Ninety-one participants were Caucasian/White, three were Asian, three were African American, three were Hispanic, and nine identified as mixed race. Participants in the qualitative portion of the study were 23 undergraduate students at a medium liberal arts university. They ranged in age from 18 to 22 years old. Three participants were freshmen, 12 were sophomores, five were juniors, and three were seniors. Fifteen participants were female and eight were male. Procedure Participants in the quantitative portion of the study were recruited using various university affiliated Facebook pages (e.g., Class of 2020, Greek organizations, athletic teams) and the Communication Study Participant Pool via SONA. Participants in the qualitative portion of the study were recruited through a convenience and snowball sampling plan and through the Communication Study Participant Pool via SONA. If recruited via SONA, participants were able to receive course credit using one of three options for being a research participant. The SONA participants were a part of an introductory Communication course.


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In both portions of the study prior to the administration of the survey or interview protocol, participants were given an informed consent form (see Appendix A). The purpose and length of the study was explained to each participant. They were informed that their participation was voluntary. Those who participated in the interview were informed that they would be audio recorded. Researchers followed an interview protocol (see Appendix B). They were also told that they were free to decide not to participate and could withdraw from the study without adversely affecting their relationship with researcher. The information was kept strictly confidential and no identifying factors were released in the published research. Then, they were asked a series of questions pertaining to a high school friend of their choosing. Once the participants finished answering questions regarding their high school friend, they were asked to respond to the same series of questions but this time pertaining to a college friend of their choosing. They wrote the name of their chosen friend on the top of the page before answering each set of questions to help them keep focused and consistent in their responses. Lastly, for the quantitative portion of the study, they were asked a set of demographic questions. The interviews lasted from 6:11 to 16:04 minutes and yielded 134 pages of double-spaced transcripts. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data yielded three major themes: (a) origin stories, (b) characteristics of friends, and (c) maintenance strategies. We corroborated evidence through triangulation by using multiple methods and investigators. Measures

Friendship maintenance was measured using Oswald’s friendship maintenance scale (Oswald et al., 2004). This measure contained four subscales: interaction, openness, positivity, and support. Thirty-seven items were measured using a seven-point Likert scale ranging from never (1) to always (7). Due to poor reliability of the positivity measure in high school friendships, three items were dropped. Friendship satisfaction was measured using Hendrick’s General Measure of Relationship Satisfaction (Hendrick, 1988). Seven items were measured using a seven-point Likert scale ranging from completely disagree (1) to completely agree (7). Friendship solidarity was measured using Wheeless’ revised solidarity scale (Wheeless, 1976). Twenty items were measured using a seven-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (7). Cronbach’s alphas are included in Table 1. Table 1 Reliabilities for Relational Maintenance, Satisfaction, and Solidarity High School

College

N

No. of items

Cronbach α

No. of items

Cronbach α

Interaction

109

10

0.87

10

0.88

Openness

109

5

0.73

5

0.77

Positivity

109

7

0.70

10

0.81

Satisfaction

109

7

0.88

7

0.90

Solidarity

109

20

0.93

20

0.94

Variable

Results To answer RQ5, multiple paired samples t-tests were conducted comparing relational maintenance strategies, satisfaction, and solidarity between high school friendships and college


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friendships. Participants were more likely to use positivity maintenance strategy in college friendships (M = 6.16, SD = 0.72) than in high school friendships (M = 5.99, SD = 0.69), t(108) = 2.14, p < .05. A difference in support strategies was approaching significance, t(108) = 1.95, p = .054, such that participants used support strategies more in college friendships (M = 5.45, SD = 1.00) than in high school friendships (M = 5.25, SD = 0.95). No other differences were found between college friendships and high school friendships in interaction, openness, satisfaction, and solidarity. To answer RQ3a and RQ3b, multiple correlations were conducted to test relationships between friendship maintenance strategies (interaction, openness, positivity, and support), satisfaction, and solidarity. Results are summarized in tables one and two.   Table 2 Correlations for High School Friendships Variable

1

2

3

4

5

6

1. Interaction

-

2. Openness

.69**

-

3. Positivity

-.04

.01

-

4. Support

.78**

.80**

-.02

-

5. Satisfaction

.52**

.56**

.31**

.56**

-

6. Solidarity

.70**

.71**

.20

.73**

.80**

-

4

5

6

**. Correlation is significant at the .01 level Table 3 Correlations for College Friendships Variable

1

2

3

1. Interaction

-

2. Openness

.79**

-

3. Positivity

.59**

.59**

-

4. Support

.78**

.88**

.61**

-

5. Satisfaction

.64**

.67**

.75**

.67**

-

6. Solidarity

.84**

.84**

.61**

.80**

.78**

-

**. Correlation is significant at the .01 level Discussion In high school friendships, interaction, openness, support, satisfaction, and solidarity are all positively correlated with each other. However, positivity is only correlated with satisfaction. Positivity as a maintenance strategy is not a factor in determining relational closeness, or interaction, openness, and support strategies. High school friendships are typically geographically distant. Therefore, positivity is not as prevalent as in geographically close relationships. This could be due to the use of social media. Geographically close friends tend to use more maintenance strategies such as positivity than geographically distant friends (Johnson, 2001). Reliability was initially problematic in the positivity measure for high school friendships. Three items were dropped to achieve acceptable reliability. These three items all encompassed


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joint activities or accommodation of other. In geographically distant friendships, it is difficult to do favors or activities. Therefore, it is plausible that high school friendships do not rely on positivity or satisfaction. In college friendships, interaction, openness, positivity, support, satisfaction, and solidarity are all positively correlated with each other. This means that increased maintenance behaviors is associated with higher feelings of closeness and greater satisfaction. In addition, closeness and satisfaction are also positively related. It is likely that the friend referenced in the study was a close friend (i.e., roommate, best friend, or significant other). Interaction with a close friend is likely to have increased maintenance strategies (interaction, openness, positivity, and support), therefore they are more likely to feel satisfied with the relationship. There was a significant difference in support and positivity maintenance strategies between high school and college friends. College friends used more support and positivity than high school friends. No other differences were found between college friendships and high school friendships in interaction, openness, satisfaction, and solidarity. Positivity is not correlated with solidarity in high school friendships, but it is positively correlated with solidarity in college friendships. This could be due to geographic distance. Friends from high school typically have less face-to-face communication. Communication over a social media platform is less personal, therefore positivity cannot be conveyed. High school friendships do not depend on positivity as a maintenance strategy to feel close. However, in college friendships, solidarity and positivity are correlated. Therefore, increased positivity leads to greater feelings of closeness. In college friendships, positivity is a necessary part of closeness, whereas in high school friendships it is not. Yet, there is no difference in feelings of solidarity between high school and college friends. In addition, college friends are more likely to be more knowledgeable of the person’s life than are high school friends. Thus, college friends are able to offer more support, especially positive support, than high school friends that are not involved in everyday hassles of the participant’s life. Whereas positivity items were dropped to increase reliability in high school friends, they were not dropped in college friends. This can be attributed to the ability to provide increased positivity in an action or activity. College friends also share more activities than do high school friends, which increases the association between positivity maintenance strategies and solidarity. Origin Stories The theme of origin stories refers to the narratives relayed by participants about how the friendship began. Stories in which participants met and increased the amount of time spent together were coded for this theme under ORIGIN:high school or ORIGIN:college. Upon closer examination, the narratives told did not differ significantly between the two life stages. Proximity was the most common factor for the beginnings of friendships. In high school, some participants stated that they were “locker buddies” (MM1) or neighbors with their friends, while college friends often began as roommates, suitemates, or hallmates in the residence halls. In both high school and college, the participants had a class with someone they gradually became closer to and eventually considered a friend. One participant said, “We were in forensics...and then we also had math together. So, we ended up hanging out there. And I don’t know, we just became friends from class” (AC4). Another participant spoke about a friend she met in her college honors seminar in a similar manner (MM3). One major reason college students may look for friends in classes is due to McEwan and Guerrero’s (2010) idea that friendships built during the college transition period are meant to create a platform for success as individuals adapt to their environments. Becoming friends through summer orientation is another way participants noted they met people who assisted in this transition period. Another narrative told in both the high school and college stages was that friendships began through common activities. Rawlins (1992) notes that males more often than females form relationships in this manner. This trend was not evident in our data. Sports and clubs were


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cited often in both high school and college origin stories. Participants detailed meeting their high school friends through marching band, soccer, track and field, and dance. Many found friends the same way in college, saying, “We’re both in marching band in the same section” (KJ5) and “We both play football for CNU so we met during camp” (RR1). However, college relationships more commonly noted proximity (being roommates or suitemates) than activities as origin stories. There were only two notable differences between the data collected for initiation of friendships in high school versus college. First, high school friendships occasionally involved parents and family members whereas none of the data for college friendship initiation mentioned family. Regarding his high school friend, one participant stated, “We kind of knew each other because my brother and his brother were friends” (MM2). Another said, “Our moms were good friends, so we were pretty much best friends since we were born'' (KJ4). Some also spoke about how after they met, they became better friends because their parents met and became friends. While participants did not indicate family members as reasons for college friendship initiation, technology was a trend present for this stage. High school friendships were all initiated faceto-face, however several participants noted that they began a friendship with a college friend through a Facebook group or a group chat. They explained that they were searching for a potential roommate or just wanted to make a friend before arriving on campus. Some participants also mentioned meeting someone in person but considering them a friend after exchanging Snapchat information or phone numbers and connecting through those platforms. To answer RQ1, our research shows that iGen students initiate most friendships through face-to-face interactions with those who are in close proximity to them or share activities with them. However, they are also comfortable reaching out through social media and other forms of technology to initiate relationships, especially in periods of transition such as beginning college. Characteristics of Friends When searching for and maintaining friendships among emerging adults, research has shown that certain characteristics are valued over others. Our interview data indicates certain characteristics were valued in emerging adult friendships: being chill, being dependable, being similar, and being complimentary. The “being chill” theme is present in the data when participants recall their friends being “carefree” (MR3) and “relaxed” (MR2). The theme of being chill, has a positive connotation when the participants recall these friendships, stating they are “not a high-pressure friendship” (MR2). Another characteristic that emerged as an important valued characteristic in emerging adult friendships being dependable. This theme is defined as when a friend can count on the other person to be there for them. This was also a positively recalled characteristic for when participants were asked about their college and high school friendships. When participants were asked about it, they said things such as “definitely support, you know I feel like I can talk to him about things which I can't to a lot of people” (MM2) and “I feel like I’m never alone, because if anything happens in my life, I know I can just go to her, and she’ll listen and give me advice” (MM3). Emerging adults were found to value the dependability characteristic in friendships as it offered support on which they knew they could always count. Lastly, participants spoke of similarities and differences. The theme of similarities is defined as the two friends sharing personality styles. This theme is recalled positively, for example, one participant said “Elizabeth and I are very similar people. So, I think that’s what makes it easy because we just kind of like were always on the same level” (MR1). Another participant recalled being similar in a positive light by saying “It was really easy to relate to them because we were so much alike” (RR4). The theme of differences (or complementarity) is defined as the two friends being opposite. An example from our interviews of a participant recalling this as a positive characteristic is “were kind of polar opposites but were kind of like opposites attract” (MR1). Another example is “her and I have different like personality styles, but I feel like we


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complement each other like although we have differences, I feel like we help each other like learn different things about the other one” (AC2). To answer RQ2, the interview data suggests the qualities that emerging adults value in close friendships are being chill, dependable, similar, and complimentary. Maintenance Strategies Friendships are flexible and voluntary (McEwan & Guerrero, 2012) allowing for many different types of maintenance strategies. After applying a thematic analysis process to the interview transcripts, results indicated a theme involving the use of maintenance strategies. This theme includes face-to-face maintenance strategies and the use of technology. We defined this theme as participants’ use of activities and technology (a) to maintain friendships and (b) to actively keep the friend in their thoughts. Face-to-face maintenance strategies are defined as shared activities participants could partake in when they wanted to meet up and spend time with their friend. Within the data, we coded face-to-face activities as maintenance with the specific activity as the in vivo code. For example, participants who mentioned getting lunch as maintenance strategy activity was coded as MAINTENANCE:lunch, in which one participant stated, “So, well we will always text each other and be like, hey, I want to get lunch and want to get dinner, like if we’re out of the room” (AC4). Other codes all involved maintenance as the code, but different examples of in vivo codes include, sports, parties, class, and housing. An example of an in vivo code using sports as a maintenance strategy would be, “In addition to being able to share moments with another person like going to sporting events and doing different activities together like sporting wise can be really helpful” (SS2). Most participants expressed the ability to maintain their friendships through either face-to-face activities or technology and social media. Much of the literature written about how friendships are maintained are about the use of Facebook to help people stay in touch. This trend was shown to be true in the study, many of the participants mentioned using Facebook as a maintenance strategy. Mainly participants who were keeping in contact with friends from high school used Facebook as a way to keep up with information. While one individual said that she met her friend through messaging via Facebook, overall, participants used Facebook for surveillance purposes with their high school friends. Social media provided a variety of ways for participants to keep in touch with their college and high school friends. Snapchat was also reported being used every day to keep up with friends, many participants reported having a “snap streak” with their friends. Individuals and their friends communicated through direct messaging to tell each other about what was going on in their lives. Direct communication was also reported with Instagram and Twitter. The main form of communication through Twitter included sending tweets to their friends directly or in a group message. Interactions on Instagram involved tagging or sending someone a funny meme that made them think of the other. Participants also said that they would post pictures of their friend to assure the other that they are committed to the relationship, one participant went so far to say, “We’re able to post pictures and prove we’re best friends” (MR3). Friends reported they contacted each other by directly texting each other. This typically happens on a daily basis. There was not a middle ground. Direct text messages were either used all the time or barely at all. Facetime was used less frequently. Participants reported using Facetime to keep up with their friends if they were apart for long periods of time (such as over school breaks) or if some other social media site struck up a conversation. The types of discussions tended to be either a rant about something going on in their life or just to tell what was going on in each other’s lives. Overall, participants used Facebook as a way to gather information without direct contact while Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter were used with direct contacts with others. Friends from high school kept in touch, if not through Facebook, with Snapchat. All of the communication outlets were used for college and high school friends. Due to the fact that college friends share campus proximity, the use of technology was not as


54

important. Since there is a greater geographical distance with friends from high school after the transition to college, technology was emphasized as being crucial to maintaining the friendship. Conclusion Overall, maintenance strategies are positively correlated with solidarity and satisfaction. The types of maintenance strategies used differ between high school and college friendships. Proximity and technology are inversely related; when friends are geographically close, they use less technology as a maintenance strategy than when they are geographically distant. Origin stories are consistent across lifespan stages for iGen, primarily relating to proximity and shared activities. The two differences between the stages are the inclusion of family in high school origin stories and use of technology in initiation of college friendships. If we were to do this study again, we would prompt participants to think of a representative friend rather than their best friend, roommate, or significant other. A prompting strategy would be picking a letter of the alphabet and having the participant use a friend whose first name starts with that letter. This promoting strategy would allow for a more representative sample of friends. Additionally, our participant pool consisted largely of females and sophomores. Therefore, in future studies we strive for a more representative sample that includes equal representation of classes. Having an equal representation of the classes would allow us to assess the dissolution and development of both high school and college. It could also be more effective if the interviewer were not a part of friendship or friend group. Interviewing individuals you know or are in close proximity to may sway their responses in face-to-face interviews. In addition, it would be helpful to write interview questions based on the results of the quantitative study to ensure that the concepts examined in both branches of the study are parallel. Lastly, we would adjust instructions or measures to be specific to high school or college friendship. We had to adjust the positivity reliability measure because the questions were not relevant to high school friendships. Finally, future studies may investigate these questions by looking at matched pairs to examine if maintenance strategies create mutual feelings of solidarity and satisfaction. In addition, future research could look at specific social media feeds and examine motivations for using those specific platforms for friendship maintenance.


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References Bell, R.A., & Healey, J. G. (1992). Idiomatic communication and interpersonal solidarity in friends’ relational cultures. Human Communication Research, 18(3), 307-335. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2958.1992.tb00555.x Belsky, J., Jaffee, S. R., Caspi, A., Moffitt, T., & Silva, P. A. (2003). Intergenerational relationships in young adulthood and their life course, mental health, and personality correlates. Journal of Family Psychology, 17, 460–471. doi:10.1037/0893-3200.17.4.460 Buote, V. M., Pancer, S. M., Pratt, M. W., Adams, G., Birnie-Lefcovitch, S., Polivy, J., & Wintre, M. G. (2007). The importance of friends: Friendship and adjustment among 1st-year university students. Journal of Adolescent Research, 22, 665–689. doi:10.1177/0743558407306344 Canary, D. J., & Dainton, M. (2014). Maintaining Relationships through Communication: Relational, Contextual, and Cultural Variations. New York, NY: Psychology Press. Canary, D. J., Stafford, L., Hause, K. S., & Wallace, L. A. (1993). An inductive analysis of relational maintenance strategies: Comparisons among lovers, relatives, friends, and others. Communication Research Reports, 10, 3–14. doi:10.1080/08824099309359913 Carmichael, C. L., Reis, H. T., & Duberstein, P. R. (2015). In your 20s it’s quantity, in your 30s it’s quality: The prognostic value of social activity across 30 years of adulthood. Psychology and Aging, 30, 95–105. doi:10.1037/pag0000014 Cupach, W. R., & Messman, S. J. (1999). Face predilections and friendship solidarity. Communication Reports, 12(1), 13-19. doi:10.1080/08934219909367704 Demir, M., Orthel-Clark, H., Özdemir, M., Özdemir, S. B. (2015). Friendship and happiness among young adults. In Demir, M. (Ed.), Friendship and happiness (pp. 117–135). New York City, NY: Springer. Demir, M., & Weitekamp, L. A. (2007). I am so happy cause today I found my friend: Friendship and personality as predictors of happiness. Journal of Happiness Studies, 8, 181–211. doi:10.1007/s10902-006-9034-1 Heller, D., Watson, D., & Ilies, R. (2004). The role of person versus situation in life satisfaction: A critical examination. Psychological Bulletin, 130, 574–600. doi:10.1037/0033 2909.130.4.574 Hendrick, S. S. (1988). A generic measure of relationship satisfaction. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 50, 93–98. doi:10.2307/352430 Jensen-Campbell, L. A., Rosselli, M., Workman, K. A., Santisi, M., Rios, J. D., & Bojan, D. (2002). Agreeableness, conscientiousness, and effortful control processes. Journal of Research in Personality, 36, 476–489. doi:10.1016/s0092-6566(02)00004-1 Johnson, A. (2001). Examining the maintenance of friendships: Are there differences between geographically close and long‐distance friends? Communication Quarterly, 49(4), 424-435. doi:10.1080/01463370109385639 Kam, J. A., Figueroa-Caballero, A., & Basinger, E. D. (2016). Measuring alcohol-specific communication with friends: Conceptualizing and operationalizing communication as multidimensional. Health Communication, 31(6), 695–706. doi:10.1080/104102 36.2014.992580 Kandel, D. B. (1978). Homophily, selection, and socialization in adolescent friendships. American Journal of Sociology, 84(2), 427–436. doi:10.1086/226792 Koban, K., & Krüger, S. (2018). Out of sight, (not yet) out of mind: The impact of tie strength on direct interaction and social surveillance among geographically close and long-distance Facebook friends. Communication Research Reports, 35(1), 74-84. doi:10.1080/0882 4096.2017.1383235


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McEwan, B., & Guerrero, L. (2010). Freshman engagement through communication: Predicting friendship formation strategies and perceived availability of network resources from communication skills. Communication Studies, 61(4), 455-463. doi:10.1080/10510 974.2010.493762 McEwan, B., & Guerrero, L. K. (2012). Maintenance behavior and relationship quality as predictors of perceived availability of resources in newly formed college friendships. Communication Studies, 63, 421–440. doi:10.1080/10510974.2011.63943 McEwan, B., Sumner, E., Eden, J., & Fletcher, J. (2018). The effects of Facebook relational maintenance on friendship quality: An investigation of the Facebook relational maintenance measure. Communication Research Reports, 35(1), 1-11. doi:10.1080/0 8824096.2017.1361393 Miller, J. B., & Hoicowitz, T. (2004). Attachment contexts of adolescent friendship and romance. Journal of Adolescence, 27(2), 191–206. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2003.11.008 Myers, S. A., & Johnson, A. D. (2014). Perceived solidarity, self-disclosure, and trust in organizational peer relationships. Communication Research Reports, 21(1) 75-83. doi:10.1080/08824090409359969 Newcomb, A. F., Bukowski, W. M., & Pattee, L. (1993). Children’s peer relations: A meta-analytic review of popular, rejected, neglected, controversial, and average sociometric status. Psychological Bulletin, 113, 99–128. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.113.1.99 Oswald, D. L., Clark, E. M., & Kelly, C. M. (2004). Friendship maintenance: An analysis of individual and dyad behaviors. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23(3), 413-441. doi:10.1521/jscp.23.3.413.35460 Oswald, D. L. & Clark, E. M. (2003). Best friends forever?: High school best friendships and the transition to college. Personal Relationships, 10, 187-196. doi:10.1111/1475 6811.00045 Rawlins, W. K. (1992). Friendship matters: Communication, dialectics, and the life course. New York: Aldine de Gruyter. Standlee, A. (2019). Friendship and online filtering: The use of social media to construct offline social networks. New Media & Society, 21(3), 770-785. doi:0.177/14614481806844 Stopfer, J. M., Egloff, B., Nestler, S., & Back, M. D. (2013). Being popular in online social networks: How agentic, communal, and creativity traits relate to judgments of status and liking. Journal of Research in Personality, 47, 592–598. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2013.05.005 Wheeless, L. R. (1976). Self-disclosure and interpersonal solidarity: Measurement, validation, and relationships. Human Communication Research, 3(1), 47-61. doi:10.1111/ j.1468-2958.1976.tb00503.x Wilson, R. E., Harris, K., & Vazire, S. (2015). Personality and friendship satisfaction in daily life: Do everyday social interactions account for individual differences in friendship satisfaction? European Journal of Personality, 29, 173-186. doi:10.1002/per.1996 Yang, S., & Ayers, B. (2014). Do birds of a feather flock together? A social network study of f friendship networks among college students. Journal of Current Issues in Media & Telecommunications, 6(1), 43-56.


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Appendix A Adult Informed Consent Form IRB # 1497610-1 Title of the Research Study: Friendship Maintenance Behaviors of iGen Summary The purpose of this study is to understand how emerging adults who are members of iGen maintain their friendship relationships. Participation in this study is voluntary. You might decide to participate in this study because you have friends are curious about how people keep friendships over time. You might decide not to participate in this study because it will take about 45-60 minutes of your time. You are invited to participate in this research study. The following information is provided in order to help you to make an informed decision whether or not to participate. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. You are eligible to participate because you are at least 18-years old and you have current friendship relationships. Participation in this study will require approximately 45-60 minutes of your time. You will be asked a total of 18 questions related to your friendships; nine questions ask you to reflect on a high school friendship and nine questions ask you to reflect on a college friendship. The interview will be audio recorded. The digital audio files of the interview will be stored on a password-protected computer that resides in a locked office. There are no more risks or discomforts associated with this research than what you encounter in ordinary conversations about your friends. You may find the learning experience enjoyable, and the information may be helpful to you when you consider how you maintain relationships with people you care about. The information gained from this study may help us to better understand how people experience and maintain friendships. Any information obtained during this study that could identify you will be kept strictly confidential. The information obtained in this study may be published in academic journals or presented at academic meetings; however, the data will not contain any information that people could use to identify you or the friendships you discuss. You are free to decide not to participate in this study or to withdraw at any time without adversely affecting your relationship with the investigators or Christopher Newport University. Your decision will not result in any loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled. Rights of Research Subjects Your rights as a research subject have been explained to you. If you have any additional questions concerning your rights as a research subject, you may contact Dr. Alice Veksler, the Committee Chair of the Christopher Newport University Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subject, at IRB@cnu.edu or (757) 594-7461. A copy of the final report can be obtained by contacting Dr. Linda D. Manning, the primary principal investigator, at lmanning@cnu.edu or (757) 594-7683.


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Documentation of Informed Consent You are voluntarily making a decision whether or not to participate in this research study. Your signed consent certifies that you have decided to participate having read and understood the information presented. You will be given a copy of this consent form to keep. _____________________________

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Printed Name of Study Participant

Printed Name of Investigator

_____________________________

_____________________________

Signature of Study Participant

Signature of Investigator

___________

___________

Date

Date

Approved 10/17/2019 


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Appendix B iGen Friendship Structured Interview Protocol To begin the interview, we would like for you to think about a specific friend from high school and a specific friend from college. With your friend from high school in mind, please share your thoughts on the following questions: 1. How did your friendship start? Can you talk us through the timeline of your friendship? What were some major turning points (highs and lows) in your friendship? 2. What makes it easy to be friends with this person? 3. What makes it difficult to be friends with this person? [Alternate phrasing: Are there barriers to your friendship (e.g., distance, time constraints, etc.)?] 4. What positives do you associate with your friendship with this person? [Alternate phrasings: How do you benefit from being friends with this person? How do you see your friend providing resources to you (e.g., companionship, advice giving, adventure, etc.)?] 5. What negatives do you associate with your friendship with this person? [Alternate phrasings: What disadvantages do you see/experience from being friends with this person? How do you see your friend taking resources from you (e.g., time, emotional energy, etc.)?] 6. How has social media helped sustain your friendship with this person? a. How do you and your friend interact on social media to maintain your friendship? b. How do you interact on social media in order to keep in touch? 7. Who wants you to be friends with this person and how much do you care about their opinion? 8. Who doesn’t want you to be friends with this person and how much do you care about their opinion? 9. What else would you like for us to know about this friendship that we haven’t touched on? Now, with your friend from college in mind, please share your thoughts on the following questions: 10. How did your friendship start? Can you talk us through the timeline of your friendship? What were some major turning points (highs and lows) in your friendship? 11. What makes it easy to be friends with this person? 12. What makes it difficult to be friends with this person? [Alternate phrasing: Are there barriers to your friendship (e.g., distance, time constraints, etc.)?]


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13. What positives do you associate with your friendship with this person? [Alternate phrasings: How do you benefit from being friends with this person? How do you see your friend providing resources to you (e.g., companionship, advice giving, adventure,etc.)?] 14.

What negatives do you associate with your friendship with this person? [Alternate phrasings: What disadvantages do you see/experience from being friends with this person? How do you see your friend taking resources from you (e.g., time, emotional energy, etc.)?]

15. How has social media helped sustain your friendship? a. How do you and your friend interact on social media to maintain your friendship? b. How do you interact on social media in order to keep in touch? 16. Who wants you to be friends with this person and how much do you care about their opinion? 17. Who doesn’t want you to be friends with this person and how much do you care about their opinion? 18. What else would you like for us to know about this friendship that we haven’t touched on?

About the Authors At the beginning of the Fall semester of 2019, along with the help of Professors Linda Manning and Brianna Lane, Alyssa Cole, Kennedy Johnson, Margaret McPherson, Riley Redd, Mackenzie Regen, Sydney Shaw set out to research more about friendship maintenance strategies and characteristics. This paper was submitted and accepted to the Undergraduate Honors Conference, Eastern Communication Association (ECA) Convention in Baltimore, Maryland. Our paper received the honor of being a top paper at ECA. Due to COVID 19, we were unable to attend, so therefore we are submitting our manuscript to OURCA. When we were applying to ECA, we did receive funds from OURCA, in order to support the presentation of our research.


“Drunk with Power: Anti-Alcohol Policy under the Nazis 1933-1945” Jannis Ernst Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Sara Black, Department of History

Abstract During the twelve-year rule of the Nazi Party over Germany, 1933 to 1945, the regime instituted brutal legal policies that targeted alcoholics within its society. Officially, the persecution of alcoholics under the Nazis was motivated by the regime’s pursuit of German racial superiority through racial hygiene. However, the Nazis’ inclusion of alcoholics in the larger group of the “asocial,” a broad and loosely defined group that the Nazis targeted for nonconformity, reveal that anti-alcohol policy pursued social control over racial hygiene. In addition to legislation mandating alcoholics to forced sterilizations and forced labor, the regime actively used propaganda and public statements to demonize alcoholics and discourage alcohol consumption within society. However, in the German armed forces consisting of the SS (Schutzstaffel) and the Wehrmacht, alcoholism was widespread, and the consumption of alcohol was regularly encouraged by the military leadership as a tool to foster social bonding, and subdue the psychological consequences of mass murder. The contradictory attitudes towards alcohol domestically, compared to the military, undermine the Nazis’ racial policies and further exposes the regime’s anti-alcohol policies as a means of social control rather than a pursuit of racial “purity.”

Special thanks to Dr. Sara Black and Dr. Brian Puaca for their continued support during the development and writing of this research paper.


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Introduction On July 13, 1942, a German Reserve Police Battalion massacred the Jewish population of the Polish village of Józefów. The German Reserve Police Battalion 101, a paramilitary wing of the Order Police that worked alongside the SS Einsatzgruppen, marched approximately 1,500 men, women, and children, into the nearby forest and shot them at point-blank range. 1 A particularly disturbing element of the massacre was the copious amounts of alcohol consumed by the executioners, supplied to them by their superiors with the intent of numbing the soldiers’ conscience to the inhumane acts they were committing. When the Massacre at Józefów had ended, and over 1,500 Jewish civilians lay dead, unburied, in the woods, the soldiers returned to the barracks, where “generous quantities of alcohol were provided, and many of the policemen got quite drunk.”2 The Józefów Massacre was just one event in a long series of murderous acts committed by the Germans between 1933 and 1945, motivated by the brutal racial ideology of Hitler and the Nazis. These atrocities were often fueled by alcohol. In the German Wehrmacht, the mobile killing squads, such as the one at Józefów, and in the German concentration camps, superiors administered alcohol liberally in order to numb the perpetrators’ conscience, reward and celebrate murder, and build comradery within its ranks. The Nazi State had a very ambiguous and contradictory relationship with alcohol. The regime depicted members of the German military, in particular those of the SS (Schutzstaffel), as the very epitome of German racial superiority. However, alcoholism was commonplace within the ranks of the various branches of the German armed forces. In particular, the SS deployed alcohol in an attempt to suppress their feelings about the atrocities they were committing. Meanwhile, on the German home front, the Nazi Regime had been instituting policies of racial hygiene since 1933, many of which actively targeted alcoholics. Racial hygiene, a eugenic school of thought developed by Alfred Ploetz, propagated the belief that some races, specifically Germans, were superior to others. Additionally, anyone within the German race who did not meet its mental or physical standards was considered a degenerative threat to the racial hygiene. Therefore, these eugenicists believed that the state had to actively control and protect its populations’ reproduction in order to create “purebred” humans.3 Alcoholics, considered to be a degenerative threat, were grouped with a loosely defined group known as the “asocial,” or “work-shy,” that also included the homeless, mentally ill, prostitutes, pacifists and anyone the Nazis viewed as a threat to the regime and the German race.4 The “asocial,” and therefore alcoholics, were subjected to forced sterilization and forced labor in concentration camps. The contradictory attitudes towards alcohol in the military, particularly the SS, and the civilian population, illuminate a glaring hypocrisy in the Nazis’ racial hygiene policies. As a social phenomenon, the Nazis viewed alcohol as evil and destructive for the German race. The regime did everything in its power to dissuade the population from consuming it. Domestic alcohol policies in Nazi Germany served both as a means of pursuing racial purity as well as social control over the population. Historians, such as Sina Fabian, have found that authoritarian regimes generally target alcoholics because they are harder to control.5 The German armed forces capitalized on alcohol in a utilitarian manner. Although “drunkenness” was Christopher R. Browning, Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland (New York: HarperCollins Publisher, 1991), 191. 2 Browning, Ordinary Men, 69. 3 Robert N. Proctor, Racial Hygiene: Medicine Under the Nazis (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1988), 14. 4 Nikolaus Wachsmann, Hitler’s Prisons: Legal Terror in Germany (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004), 170. 5 Sina Fabian, “Drink and Power. Alcohol and the Making of Illiberal Regimes in the Long 20th Century,” TRAFO: Blog for Transregional Research (blog), March 14, 2019, https://trafo.hypotheses.org/18220. 1


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discouraged by the Wehrmacht and SS high commands, and considered a punishable offense, it was consistently used as a tool for means of emotional numbing and social bonding. Because the Nazis represented the German military man as the epitome of German racial superiority, the tolerance of alcoholism in the armed forces, as well as the encouragement of alcohol consumption within its ranks, ultimately undermined the Nazi message of racial purity and reveal the extent to which anti-alcohol policy served as a means of social control on the home front. Overview This investigation will evaluate the historiographical arguments surrounding German racial hygiene, the targeting of the “asocial” and alcoholics specifically, and the role of alcohol in the German military. After assessing the existing literature and scholarly debates in the field, this paper will explore how and to what extent Nazi alcohol policies supported the regime’s agenda of racial purity. First, it will examine the history of eugenics. Specifically explaining how the German belief of “racial hygiene” developed before 1933, and why it led to the persecution of alcoholics once the Nazis took power. This paper will investigate the Nazis’ position towards alcohol in regards to civilians using legislation, propaganda, and statements that targeted or demonized alcoholics. Following the discussion of domestic anti-alcohol and racial policies, the investigation will evaluate alcohol consumption and attitudes in the German armed forces. There will be a focus on the main ways in which the Nazis capitalized on the use of alcohol: emotional numbing to mass murder, a reward to celebrate murder, and social bonding. Historiography The sources available on this topic are limited as few comprehensive reviews of Nazi alcohol policy have been published. Furthermore, while historians have evaluated Nazi attitudes towards alcohol, no historian has used alcohol policy to evaluate Nazi racial policy. The article, “Alcohol and the State in Nazi Germany,” published in 1991 by Hermann Fahrenkrug, claims to be the first study of Nazi alcohol policy.6 Fahrenkrug focuses on sociological arguments about the modern state, concluding that the history of German alcohol policy during the Third Reich was one of “end-rational social molding of society and its members, according to the imperatives of the economy and state.”7 Thereby, Fahrenkrug used alcohol policy to assess the Nazis’ means of social control over the population for utilitarian goals. Furthermore, Dr. Sina Fabian, a professor at the Humboldt University of Berlin, has held lectures on the connection between alcohol and illiberal regimes, an idea that is relevant to this investigation. Additionally, Fabian is currently working on research pertaining to alcohol policy in Germany during the first half of the twentieth century.8 Fabian’s research demonstrates that the topic of Nazi alcohol policy is a reemerging area of study in academia. However, it is similar to Fahrenkrug’s research as both use alcohol policy in Nazi Germany to study the broader theme of societal control in the modern state. Although scholars have not explicitly used Nazi alcohol policies to evaluate Nazi racial policies, the existing scholarship on the latter is extensive. Many monographs contain chapters or sections that provide information on the persecution of the “asocial” that often contain a subsection on alcoholics specifically. Robert Proctor’s Racial Hygiene: Medicine Under the Nazis provides a detailed analysis of the history and origins of racial hygiene that would come to dictate German racial policy. Furthermore, in Proctor’s chapter entitled “Lives Not Hermann Fahrenkrug, “Alcohol and the State in Nazi Germany,” in Drinking: Behavior and Belief in Modern History, ed. Susanna Barrows and Robin Room (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1991), 315. 7 Fahrenkrug, “Alcohol and the State in Nazi Germany,” 332. 8 Fabian, “Drink and Power. Alcohol and the Making of Illiberal Regimes in the Long 20th Century,” TRAFO: Blog for Transregional Research (blog). 6


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Worth Living,” he introduces the concept of “criminal biology,” which used racial hygienics to justify the persecution of the “asocial,” and thereby alcoholics.9 Another major work in the field of German racial policy is The Racial State: Germany 1933-1945, published in 1991, by Michael Burleigh and Wolfgang Wippermann. The authors dedicate a substantial chapter to the persecution of the “asocial” and also explain how “criminal biology,” the belief that criminal behaviors were inherently genetic, was used to target the “asocial” and alcoholics.10 Both of these sources demonstrate that German racial policy viewed negative behaviors, such as alcoholism, as genetic. Using the concept of racial hygiene, eugenicists sought to keep these individuals from reproducing and “tainting” the population. The historiography surrounding alcohol and other drugs in the German military during the Second World War is more developed in journal articles than it is in monographs. However, Christopher Browning’s Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland was invaluable to this investigation. In his evaluation of the brutal actions of German Reserve Police Battalion 101, Browning argues that alcohol played a crucial role in enabling individuals to commit atrocities, while also ensuring to state that this does not excuse any of their actions.11 Furthermore, Edward Westermann’s article “Stone-Cold Killers or Drunk with Murder? Alcohol and Atrocity during the Holocaust” illuminates that the Nazis used alcohol as a tool to commit genocide, not as a “prerequisite for murder,” but in the ways that it reveals how the Nazis used alcohol in a way that “prepared, carried out, and celebrated mass murder.”12 Although Westermann briefly acknowledges that the use of alcohol by the military “transgressed” German racial “values,” this is not a part of his central conclusion. Furthermore, as he focuses on alcohol in the military, he does not significantly evaluate domestic alcohol policies.13 This investigation agrees with Westermann’s conclusions regarding alcohol in the German military, but delves deeper into the comparison of the domestic attitudes towards alcohol. This investigation seeks to make a significant contribution to the study of Nazi racial policy, its persecution of the “asocial,” and its use of alcohol in the military. It also contributes to the broader history of the global anti-alcohol movement. There are a variety of reasons that this evaluation of Nazi alcohol policy is historically significant. Firstly, it is important to recognize the suffering that the Nazi anti-alcohol policies caused. Most historians typically group the victims of anti-alcohol policy with the victims of the broader Nazi racial policy or the persecution of the “asocial.” While this is justifiable for a broader historical evaluation, after over 70 years, the victims of anti-alcohol policy deserve a separate historical study to tell their story. Secondly, this is a reemerging field of study, as demonstrated by the earlier mentions of Fabian’s work.14 Ideally, this investigation hopes to encourage further research on the subjects of anti-alcohol policy under the Nazi regime, the relationship between anti-alcohol policy and authoritarian regimes, and the worldwide prohibitionist and eugenics movement in the first part of the twentieth century. Most historians’ research on the specific topic of Nazi alcohol policy has typically used it as a means to explain social integration and control in the modern state, essentially using Germany as a microcosm to prove their arguments. This investigation Proctor, Racial Hygiene: Medicine Under the Nazis, 202. Michael Burleigh and Wolfgang Wippermann, The Racial State: Germany 1933-1945 (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991), 136-199. 11 Browning, Ordinary Men, 159-162. 12 Edward B. Westermann, “Stone-Cold Killers or Drunk with Murder? Alcohol and Atrocity during the Holocaust,” Holocaust and Genocide Studies 39, no. 1 (Spring 2016): 1-19. 13 Westermann, “Stone-Cold Killers or Drunk with Murder? Alcohol and Atrocity during the Holocaust.” 14 Fabian, “Drink and Power. Alcohol and the Making of Illiberal Regimes in the Long 20th Century,” TRAFO: Blog for Transregional Research. 9

10


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will use its analysis of German alcohol policy between 1933 and 1945 to evaluate the extent to which the Nazis undermined their racial ideology. Therefore, it intends to contribute more to the historiography of modern Germany, rather than the sociology of the modern state. Origins of Racial Hygiene Ideas about racial ideology and the superiority of some races, like the ones the Nazis propagated, were not exclusively found, nor created, in Germany. Eugenics was not an inherently German idea. However, no other country saw such an immense dedication to academia and research of the concept. The word “race” first entered the German language in the seventeenth century as a borrowed word from English and French. By the mid-nineteenth century, the word had been Germanized and was spelled in its current form, Rasse.15 The early development of racial ideas in Germany was very similar to that of other European countries and the United States. Hierarchical ideas about race were centered on external physical characteristics, and it was widely held in Europe and North America that Africans and Asians were of “lesser” racial value and were “less beautiful.”16 However, everything changed when Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life in 1859. The scientific community widely accepted Darwin’s research, which theorized that there existed a constant struggle between all forms of life for survival.17 Darwin applied his theory of natural selection solely to plants and animals. It is important to note that Darwin was an abolitionist, opposed the hierarchy of human races, and rejected the application of his theory to the human species.18 However, in 1864, Herbert Spencer deduced the concept of “survival of the fittest” from Darwin’s research and increasingly applied it to human racial biology.19 Spencer became known as one of the first Social Darwinists, a movement of scientific racism that became increasingly accepted in Europe and North America throughout the 1870s. Social Darwinists in major European countries and the United States began manipulating Darwin’s evolutionary theories to justify their countries’ imperialist actions around the world, explain the economic and social inequality within their societies, and bolster their self-confidence by labeling themselves as inherently superior to others. As ideas of Social Darwinism and racial superiority grew in popularity during the late nineteenth century, a distinct difference between German Social Darwinist and those of other countries began to form. In the United States and England, Social Darwinists used evolutionary theories to legitimize laissez-faire capitalism as they envisioned entrepreneurial competition as the embodiment of “survival of the fittest.”20 While German Social Darwinists also justified their current socio-political order in terms of a natural order, the German Social Darwinists were less optimistic that this order could be naturally maintained. Historian, Robert Proctor, argues that German Social Darwinists rejected laissez-faire capitalism because Germany had failed to establish substantial overseas colonies and assert itself as an imperialistic world power. In contrast, the British Social Darwinists attributed its economic to Britain’s becoming the dominant world power.21 He explained that the German Social Darwinists attributed their country’s failures to the “degeneration” of its population, which they attributed to two factors: “medical care for the ‘weak’ had begun to destroy the natural struggle for existence; and second because the poor and misfits of the world were beginning to Burleigh and Wippermann, The Racial State: Germany 1933-1945, 22. Burleigh and Wippermann, The Racial State: Germany 1933-1945, 24. 17 Burleigh and Wippermann, The Racial State: Germany 1933-1945, 28. 18 Burleigh and Wippermann, The Racial State: Germany 1933-1945, 28. 19 Herbert Spencer, The Principles of Biology, (London: Williams and Norgate, 1864), 445. 20 Burleigh and Wippermann, The Racial State: Germany 1933-1945, 14. 21 Proctor, Racial Hygiene: Medicine Under the Nazis, 14. 15 16


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multiply faster than the talented and fit.”22 So while all Social Darwinists accepted the existence of a hierarchy of races, the German Social Darwinists believed that the state had to protect its population from the lesser races, a belief that came to be known as racial hygiene. The term racial hygiene was coined by the German physician Alfred Ploetz, in his seminal work, Basics of Racial Hygiene, Part I: The Efficiency of our Race and the Protection of the Weak, published in 1895. Ploetz’s book had a profound impact on the German eugenics movement and directly influenced Nazi racial policy. Ploetz’s writings also began to question the role of alcoholism in racial hygiene: Would it be correct that only ethically-weak individuals fall victim to alcoholism… then the racial hygienist would have no reason to align with the temperance movement, because they would be hindering the elimination of the weak. However, if alcoholism affects individuals without consideration of their characteristics… and damages them, without exception, in the same way…. then the racial hygienist must combat at all costs. 23 The excerpt from Ploetz’s book reveals that he saw alcohol in contradictory ways. On the one hand, he believed that alcohol supported racial hygiene because weak individuals would succumb to alcoholism, thereby allowing strong individuals to prosper. However, on the other hand, as anyone could succumb to alcoholism, it had the devastating potential to threaten the entire race. Ploetz eventually concluded that alcohol should be viewed as damaging by the racial hygienists because of its “success in filling prisons and brothels, and further spreading hereditary diseases.”24 In his conclusion, Ploetz hints at the concept of “criminal biology” that would dictate Nazi racial policy. By attributing prison populations, brothels, and the spread of diseases to alcoholics, Ploetz was conveying the idea that some individuals were inherently bad and that alcohol propagated this behavior. Ultimately, both of these perspectives came to shape the Nazis’ attitude towards alcohol. The Nazis’ did not view alcoholism as beneficial to racial hygiene because it could have propagated “survival of the fittest.” However, the Nazis’ position on alcohol did agree with the idea that inherently “weak” individuals were seen as more susceptible to alcoholism. Therefore, Nazi alcohol policy targeted alcoholics not only for their consumption of alcohol but for their inherent weaknesses and susceptibility to criminal behaviors. In 1936, the Nazi Party credited Ploetz with creating the “biological foundations” of the Nazi racial state.25 Anti-Alcohol Sentiment Before 1933 Many European countries had experienced the rise of organized anti-alcohol movements in the late nineteenth century, and Germany was no exception. The German Anti-Alcohol Association was founded in 1883.26 While temperance movements in the United States and some other countries found initial success at the start of the twentieth century using religious rhetoric, none of the prohibitionist laws survived the Great Depression.27 Given the immense Proctor, Racial Hygiene: Medicine Under the Nazis, 15. Alfred Ploetz, Basics of Racial Hygiene, Part I: The Efficiency of our Race and the Protection of the Weak (Berlin: S. Fischer, 1895), 190. https://archive.org/details/b28055433/ page/n5/mode/2up/search/alkoholismus. 24 Ploetz, Basics of Racial Hygiene, Part I: The Efficiency of our Race and the Protection of the Weak, 193. 25 Proctor, Racial Hygiene: Medicine Under the Nazis, 28. 26 Robert N. Proctor, The Nazi War on Cancer (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999), 141. 27 Karl Mann, Derik Hermann, and Andreas Heinz, “One Hundred Years of Alcoholism: The Twentieth,” Alcohol and Alcoholism 35, no. 1 (January 2000): 10–15. https://academic.oup.com/alcalc/article/35/1/10/142396 22 23


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economic and cultural importance of alcohol in Germany, and the eventual failure of alcohol prohibition in the United States, the German Anti-Alcohol movement was never able to achieve enough support.28 A key factor of the German Anti-Alcohol movement was that its rhetoric was based on racial hygiene, which led to the formation of a close relationship with the newly emerging Nazi Party. The American and other prohibitionist movements cited the social problems with alcohol consumption. On the other hand, the German Anti-Alcohol movement focused on the role of alcohol in the degeneration of the species and the propagation of mental illness within the German race. This similarity in racial hygienist rhetoric lead to a symbiotic relationship of support between the anti-alcohol movements and the Nazi Party before its rise to power in 1933. Hitler’s earliest public attack on alcohol appeared in the official Nazi Party newspaper, Völkischer Beobachter, on March 31, 1926. He argued that “the valuable people – especially Germans – [are] destroyed or rendered useless by alcohol, exceeding by an order of magnitude even the numbers of those lost on the battlefield.”29 Hitler’s equation of alcoholism and war, about the negative effects both have on the population, demonstrates agreement with the German Anti-Alcohol Movement’s racially hygienic view of alcoholism. Just as the Nazis’ actively furthered the message of the German Anti-Alcohol movement, the Movement supported the Nazi Party in elections through its publication, Auf Der Wacht. Before the election of 1933, the journal announced: “We Germans stand at an important turning point: new men are shaping the destiny of our fatherland, new laws are being created, new measures put into place, new forces awakened. The struggle touches on everything that has been unclean.”30 The journal reveals that the justification for the German Anti-Alcohol movement was racial hygiene, which further distinguished it from the temperance movements in the rest of the world. This positive relationship the Nazi Party had with the German Anti-Alcohol movement also reveals how deeply anti-alcohol policy was ingrained in the Nazi ideology. Alcoholics as “Asocial” During the twelve-year rule of the Nazis over Germany, the regime increasingly targeted a group of the population they referred to as “asocial.” Although the term “asocial” was never officially defined by the Regime, it was broadly applied to those that did not or could not follow the moral and legal standards of the state, or refused to conform to society. This concept was illuminated in an excerpt from the Reich Minister of the Interior in 1937: Those to be considered asocial are persons who demonstrate through behavior towards the community, which may not itself be criminal, that they will not adapt themselves to the community. The following are examples of asocial: (a) A person who through minor, but repeated, infractions of the law demonstrate that they will not adapt themselves to the natural discipline of the National Socialist State, e.g. beggars, tramps, gypsies, whores, alcoholics with contagious diseases, particularly sexually transmitted diseases, who evade the measures taken by public health authorities.31 Jonathan Lewy, “A Sober Reich? Alcohol and Tobacco Use in Nazi Germany,” Substance Use & Misuse 41, no. 8 (2006): 1181. 29 Adolf Hitler, Völkischer Beobachter, March 31, 1926, quoted in Robert N. Proctor, The Nazi War on Cancer (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999), 143. 30 Immanuel Gonser, “Zweitende!” Auf Der Wacht 50 (1933), 37, quoted in Robert N. Proctor, The Nazi War on Cancer (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999), 143. 31 Reichssicherheitshauptamt, “Grundlegender Erlass über die vorbeugende Verbrechensbekämpfung durch die Polizei des Reichs – und Preussischen Ministers des Innen vom 14.12.1937,” Vorbeugende Verbrechensbekämpfung (Berlin, 1942), 41, quoted in Michael Burleigh and Wolfgang Wippermann, The Racial State: Germany 1933-1945 (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991), 173. 28


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This statement reveals that for a person to be considered “asocial,” they did not even have to break the law directly, just be different enough to be noticed by the authorities for not conforming to society. Additionally, the overtly broad definition of “asocial” allowed the state to imprison most anyone they decided to label as “asocial.” The Minster’s specific mention of “alcoholics with contagious diseases” reinforces the idea that the main threat of alcoholics was not their consumption of alcohol itself, but rather the negative decisions they might make while under the influence, specifically sexual ones that may further degenerate the racial hygiene. The connection between alcoholics and the “asocial” was a longstanding concept in racial hygiene. Just as Ploetz had concluded in 1895 that alcoholism was harmful to the German race because it propagated the spread of hereditary diseases, a very similar view of the connection existed during the Third Reich. For the Nazis, “asocial” or criminal behavior was not attributed to the individual’s choices or experiences. Instead, the Nazis held that “asocial” or criminal behaviors were innate, predictable, and therefore, inheritable. The goal was thereby to remove this inherent social deviance from the German race, with the intent of creating a society based on conformity, propagating inherently “good” traits, and benefiting the state. Alcohol consumption threatened this idea because the impairment of an individual’s judgment could lead them to make poor sexual or reproductive decisions. Policies and propaganda increasingly targeted alcoholics and “asocial” after the Nazis’ seized power in 1933, and the brutality with which this group was treated would only get worse. Anti-Alcohol Policies instituted by the Nazis Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany in January of 1933. By March, Hitler was able to get the Enabling Act approved by the Reichstag, which secured his dictatorial rule over Germany. The Nazi Party quickly revealed its intentions to impose racial hygienics on the German population. By June 28, 1933, Reich Minister for the Interior, Wilhelm Frick, established the Committee of Experts for Population and Racial Policy with the intent of drafting a law for mandatory sterilization.32 On July 14, 1933, the Committee completed its task and passed Das Gesetz zur Verhütung erbkranken Nachwuchses, or The Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring. Under the terms of the law: (1) Those with genetic diseases may be sterilized through surgical intervention if, based on the experience of medical science, it is highly likely that their offspring will suffer from severe physical or mental genetic defects. (2) For the purposes of this Act, a genetic defect is someone who has one of the following diseases: 1. congenital down syndrome, 2. schizophrenia, 3. Periodic (manic-depressive) insanity, 4. hereditary epilepsy, 5. hereditary Vitus dance (Huntington’s chorea), 6. hereditary blindness, 7. hereditary deafness, 8. severe hereditary physical defect. (3) Furthermore, those who suffer from severe alcoholism can be rendered sterile…

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Burleigh and Wippermann, The Racial State: Germany 1933-1945, 136.


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(12) If the court decides upon sterilization, the operation must be performed even if it is against the wishes of the person to be sterilized… In so far as other measures rove insufficient, the use of force is permissible.33 The fact that alcoholism was included in this law is curious. Despite being a hereditary condition, it is the only listed reason for sterilization in which the individual has some sort of control over their condition. Additionally, the structure of the law is very significant because alcohol is not included in the same paragraph as the hereditary diseases. This may be because the Nazi physicians who wrote the law understood the fundamental differences between the hereditary nature of alcoholism, versus diseases such as schizophrenia or Huntington’s disease. This suggests that one was more behavioral while the other more physiological. It can be inferred that the inclusion of alcohol in this law was not only designed to sterilize chronic alcoholics, but also discourage mild or non-alcoholics from drinking in the first place. Nevertheless, three different studies conducted in 1934 found alcoholism to be the fourth most frequent reason for sterilization. In a sample of 6,052 men that were forcefully sterilized, 5% of cases were cited to be for chronic alcoholism. Another sample of 6,032 forced sterilizations for women found that 0.5% of were for alcoholism. In another study, 6.8% of 352 men and women were sterilized for alcoholism.34 These separate studies reveal that while the intent of the law may have been to discourage alcohol consumption, it was not just an empty threat by the regime. Although the Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring explicitly targeted alcoholics, many in the regime and racial hygienists and Nazi officials called for stronger laws to further combat “criminal biology.” In order to increasingly target the “asocial,” on November 24, 1933, the state passed the Law Against Dangerous and Habitual Criminals. However, the law did not specifically define “habitual criminal.” Instead, this was left to the discretion of judges who were granted the power to determine whether or not an individual committed a crime due to a “criminal disposition.”35 In this manner, the Nazis ingrained the concept of criminal biology into the German legal code. The law enabled judges to imprison repeat offenders for longer periods of time. It established “Preventative and Rehabilitative Measures,” under which drug users and alcoholics could be held in “correctional post-detention’ for up to two years after their prison sentence ended. Most drastic, were the “preventative measures” of the law, which allowed for the indefinite imprisonment of individuals “in the interest of public safety.”36 The law essentially gave the state unlimited control over the lives of alcoholics and “asocial.” The power to imprison them simply for being “inherently criminal” and for an indefinite amount of time rendered these targeted individuals powerless and at the mercy of the Nazis’ brutal racial ideology. The law demonstrates the brutally authoritarian nature of the Nazi regime and supports the argument that anti-alcohol policy was a tool for social control. “Asocial” and Anti-Alcohol Propaganda Apart from official state sponsored actions of repression and legislation that targeted alcoholics, propaganda was used to demonize and degrade those who drank alcohol in the eyes of the broader population. The significance of analyzing the transmission of anti-alcohol “Das Gesetz zur Verhütung erbkranken Nachwuchses.” Law, Germany, November 24, 1933, Reichsgesetzblatt 1933 I, 529-531. 34 Otmar Freiherr von Verschuer, Erbpathologie: Ein Lehrbuch für Ärzte und Medizinstudierende, (Dresden: 1934), quoted in Proctor, Racial Hygiene: Medicine Under the Nazis (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1988), 178. 35 “Gesetz gegen gefährliche Gewohnheitsverbrecher und über Massregeln der Sicherung und Besserung.” Law, Germany, November 24, 1933, Reichsgesetzblatt 1933 I, 995. 36 Wachsmann, Hitler’s Prisons: Legal Terror in Germany, 130. 33


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attitudes, specifically propaganda, is that it provides some information on German public opinion. Studying opinion in Nazi Germany is difficult because of the authoritarian nature and strict social control of the regime. There are no accurate opinion polls in order to understand public opinion. However, through the assessment of popular visual materials that many Germans would have encountered on a regular basis, one can at least get a sense of the zeitgeist surrounding the opinion of alcohol. The first piece of Nazi propaganda (see Figure 1 in Appendix), was created by the Reich Propaganda Office in 1936. The caption reads: The fruitful inheritance of an Alcoholic, in 83 years they will have 894 descendants. 40 of which will live in poverty, 67 will be hardened criminals, 7 will be murderers, 181 will be prostitutes, and 142 will be beggars. These “asocial” and their activities will cost the state five million Reichsmark.37 The caption that accompanies the demonic representation of an alcoholic woman relies on the mindless trust that much of the German population had for the Nazi regime. The claim that an alcoholic would have 894 descendants in 83 years is impossible, but it relied on the sexual promiscuity that the racial hygienists, such as Ploetz, and the regime associated with alcoholics. Additionally, the statement that all of the alcoholic’s offspring would be criminals, beggars, murders, or more broadly, “asocial,” reinforced the idea of criminal biology. The propaganda image suggested that the inherently bad behavior of alcoholism would lead to progressively more degenerative individuals within society. The connection established between alcoholics and economic costs was a common theme in propaganda targeting the “asocial.” The regime wanted to make the average German man and woman feel like alcoholics’ behavior was negatively affecting them in order to justify the regime’s actions against alcoholics. Overall, the intent behind this image was to discourage the consumption of alcohol, foster negative attitudes towards alcoholics, and make the average German citizen feel that every individual with an alcohol problem was actively hurting them and the racial hygiene of the German people. The second propaganda image (see Figure 2 in Appendix) was published by the leading German anti-tobacco journal, Reine Luft (Clean Air) in 1939.38 The image depicts two men, one older man sitting inside, drinking beer, and one muscular and militaristic soldier marching with the text above the image reading: “Two men – Two world views.” The intended audience of the image was men, hoping to invoke self-reflection within them. Which of the two men represented them? Were they the lazy beer drinker? Or the strong and powerful man in uniform? The absolute terms in which the image presents the two “world views” further reveals the fact that the regime wanted its citizens to think that if they were not actively helping the state, they were engaging in “asocial” behavior. This idea was further reinforced by the timing of the propaganda, since 1939 marked the start of the Second World War in Europe. If a German man was drinking, then he must be lazy and not care about the war or Germany. In addition to the propaganda images, Hitler and other high ranking party officials expressed the rejection of alcohol in the new German society through their public statements. In 1935, at the annual Nazi Party Rally in Nuremberg, Hitler gave a speech denouncing drinking. “There were times – they seem far away and almost incomprehensible – when the ideal German was the man who could handle his beer and hard liquor,” he explained. However, Reich Propaganda Office, “The Fearful Legacy of an Alcoholic,” 1936. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Accessed Online: https://collections.ushmm.org/ search/catalog/pa1072057 38 “Zwei Männer – Zwei Weltanschauungen” Reine Luft 21 (1939), reproduced in Robert N. Proctor, The Nazi War on Cancer (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999), 151. 37


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“Today, we no longer look to the guy who can handle his drink, but rather to the young man who can tough it out in rough weather, the hard young man.39 The excerpt reveals the ways in which the Nazis sought to alter the perception of alcohol and decrease its cultural value within society. Hitler’s speech demonstrates how the Nazis also manipulated masculinity in order to exert greater control over the population. As previously observed by the propaganda image of “two men – two world views,” the Nazis hoped to eliminate masculinity associated with the consumption of alcohol. The regime sought to replace drinking with militaristic and survivalist ideals that would further the idea of German racial superiority and prepare its population for war. The alteration of masculinity under the Nazis also demonstrates the idealization of the German soldier within society, as Hitler states the people should no longer admire the heavy drinking, but rather the “hard young man.” The fact that Hitler abstained from alcohol was a fact that was propagandized to the German people from the start of the regime. A cardboard poster with the simple phrase, “our Führer Adolf Hitler drinks no alcohol and does not smoke” was released by the Nazi Party in 1933 (see Figure 3 in Appendix).40 The early appearance of the propaganda reveals how critical Hitler’s abstinence of alcohol and tobacco was to his cult of personality. Additionally, the simplicity of the poster demonstrates that the Nazi Party was incredibly proud of the Führer’s abstinence. The creators of this poster felt no need to explain the positive implications of this statement, instead assuming that the German people who would consume the propaganda would automatically form their own positive opinions on Hitler because of it. Both the quote and poster reveal that Hitler and the Nazis advertised abstinence as strength, and that it had a positive impact on the individual as well as the German race. The regime’s advertisement of the Führer’s “natural” lifestyle as the epitome of existence also reinforces Hitler’s cult of personality and thereby the social control the regime had over its people.41 Alcohol in the SS The Schutzstaffel or SS, was a branch of the German government during the Third Reich, led by Heinrich Himmler, that focused on the racial aspects of the Nazi ideology. The SS was intended to represent the epitome of German racial superiority. Himmler instituted strict racial requirements for the SS. Recruits had to trace their German bloodline back to the year 1750, meet the minimum height standard, have proper bone structure, and have no Slavic or Mongolian characteristics.42 The SS consisted of a variety of subdivisions which had various duties. The Allgemeine-SS (General SS), was in charge of enforcing and instituting German racial policies and included the Einsatzgruppen that committed the majority of mass murders outside of the camps. The Waffen-SS (Armed SS), was the military wing and worked with the German military, the Wehrmacht. The SS-Totenkopfverbände (Death’s Head Units), was responsible for the German concentration and extermination camps. Finally, there were a number of law enforcement divisions that were consolidated into the Ordnungspolizei (Order Police) at the start of the war. This Order Police had a regimented and militaristic structure. A number of its battalions were attached to the Einsatzgruppen and participated in brutal acts of instituting Adolf Hitler, Speech, September 1935, quoted in Proctor, The Nazi War on Cancer Proctor, 152. 40 Reich Propaganda Office, “Unser Führer Adolf Hitler trinkt keinen Alkohol und raucht nicht” (1933) Deutsches Historisches Museum. Accessed Online: https://www. dhm.de/lemo/bestand/objekt/schild-unser-fuehrer-adolf-hitler-trinkt-keinen alkohol-nach-1932.html. 41 Proctor, The Nazi War on Cancer, 140-141. 42 Richard Breitman, The Architect of Genocide: Himmler and the Final Solution (Hanover: University Press of New England, 1991), 34. 39


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Nazi racial policy towards the civilian populations of conquered countries.43 The official position of the SS on alcohol mirrored that of Hitler and the Nazi regime. On October 4, 1943, Heinrich Himmler, addressed a group of SS officers in the city of Poznan, in German occupied Poland. Himmler made a lengthy speech about the role of the SS in the war thus far, and its contribution to the extermination of the Jews. Himmler began to address the core values of the SS men, such as loyalty, discipline, honesty, and finally “avoidance of alcohol.” We really need waste no words on the subject of alcohol, we know that. With the hundreds of thousands of men that we are losing in the war, we cannot afford to lose still more men, physically or morally, through addiction to alcohol and self-destruction. Here as well, the best comradeship which you can extend to your subordinates is the greatest, most merciless severity. Crimes committed under the influence of alcohol must be punished twice as severely. Leaders who allow their subordinates to hold drinking parties in their companies will be punished. I must request that this be carried out everywhere.44 Himmler’s statement is incredibly contradictive because no part of the German armed forces was abused alcohol more than in the SS. Himmler’s quote about “leaders who allow their subordinates to hold drinking parties in their companies will be punished,” holds a particular element of hypocrisy because Himmler, as leader of the SS, allowed, and reportedly even encouraged, the use of alcohol in social bonding, emotional numbing, and celebration of murder.45 Himmler’s contradictory attitudes towards alcohol consumption in the SS, publicly, as opposed to privately, reveals the need he and the regime felt to keep the illusion of racial hygiene alive, while simultaneously encouraging the use of alcohol as a tool to commit mass murder. Himmler’s encouragement of alcohol consumption as a means of social bonding permeated through the ranks of the SS even before the start of the war. Eugen Kogen, a political prisoner at the Buchenwald Concentration Camp recalled the monthly social gatherings at Buchenwald: “the social evenings of the SS, which started at Buchenwald with a magnificent open air celebration in 1938, subsequently taking place about once a month for the headquarters staff. They were eating and drinking sprees…”46 Kogen’s memoir of the SS Death’s Head Units using alcohol as a means of social bonding reveals early violations of Nazi racial ideology by the elite German racial specimens. Additionally, the memory demonstrates the celebration of murder that was practiced by SS concentration camp guards. This would be a reoccurring theme once the war started and the Nazis’ genocidal actions increased. Kogen later recalled that SS guards, which had been transferred from Auschwitz to Buchenwald, remised about the “wild life” at Auschwitz with its “strong medicine and constant alcoholic indulgences.”47 This statement demonstrates that the celebration and rewarding of murder persisted throughout the war. Both of Kogen’s memories about the relationship of alcohol and the SS concentration camp guards demonstrate how alcohol was used as a means of social bonding, as well a being celebrations of murder. Furthermore, it validates that alcohol consumption was widespread and encouraged within the ranks of the Death’s Head Units of the SS, who were supposed to Breitman, The Architect of Genocide, 33-38. Heinrich Himmler, “Speech of the Reichsführer-SS at the SS Group Leader Meeting in Posen (Poznan)” (1943), Accessed online: http://www.holocaustresearchproject. org/holoprelude/posen.html. 45 Richard Breitman, The Architect of Genocide: Himmler and the Final Solution (Hanover: University Press of New England, 1991), 174. 46 Kogen, The Theory and Practice of Hell: The German Concentration Camps and the System Behind Them, 118. 47 Eugen Kogen, translated by Heinz Norden, The Theory and Practice of Hell: The German Concentration Camps and the System Behind Them (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1950) 234. 43 44


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be the epitome of the German race. In addition to rewarding and celebrating mass murder, another motivation that the SS had for allowing, and even encouraging, their soldiers to consume alcohol was to numb them and ease the psychological effects of the atrocities they were committing. Special rations of alcohol were commonplace, particularly for regiments that had committed acts of mass murder. Kurt Werner, a soldier in SS-Sonderkommando 4a, who participated in the Babi Yar Massacre of 33,771 Jewish civilians recalled “I had to spend all morning down in the ravine. For some of the time I had to shoot continuously…. That evening we were given alcohol (schnapps) again.”48 The excerpt from Werner’s memoir presents one of the many instances in which alcohol was provided as a reward to soldiers that committed inhumane acts. Another such example can be found in a document from an SS doctor at the Buchenwald concentration camp, which depicts him prescribing a special ration of “spirits” to three soldiers that unloaded a transport of corpses: For those that unloaded the corpses from the Auschwitz transport on January 26, 1945 those appointed officers: Hauptscharführer Wilhelm, Oberscharführer Warnstädt, and Unterscharführer Stoppe. Will receive a special ration of spirits as prescribed by doctor. The Standortärzt of the Waffen-SS Weimar, Hauptsturmführer G.R.49 This document reinforces the role that alcohol played in numbing soldiers consciences and rewarding the most brutal tasks. This case was especially significant in that an SS doctor prescribed alcohol in the same way that any medication would have been prescribed. This medicinal approach to alcohol reinforces that the Nazis’ viewed alcohol as a tool, which provided them with a means to an end. Alcohol as a reward or medicine was how the SS leadership ensured their soldiers would continually be willing to engage in inhumane and murderous acts, while simultaneously hoping to curb the psychological effects of their actions. The fact that the SS soldiers, the ideal specimen of German racial superiority, would need alcohol to cope with their actions of the furthering of the German race, undermines the Nazis’ racial policies. Despite the Nazis’ efforts to keep the soldiers of the Einsatzgruppen from succumbing to the psychological effects that accompanied their actions, many still deteriorated into depressive states. In such cases, the copious amounts of alcohol that the Regime supplied the soldiers actually furthered their mental decline. An anonymous member of Einsatzgruppe A, recalled that many men, including officers, could not cope after the first round of shootings. He explained: “many suffered nervous breakdowns and psychological illnesses; for example we had suicides and there were cases where some men cracked up and shot widely around them and completely lost control.”50 Alcoholism became commonplace among soldiers, in particularly officers, of the SS subdivisions, and to a higher degree in the Einsatzgruppen. A soldier of the 101st Reserve Police Battalion recalled: “most of the other comrades drank so much solely because of the many Kurt Werner, statement, May 28, 1964, quoted in “The Good Old Days” The Holocaust as Seen by its Perpetrators and Bystanders, ed. Ernst Klee, Willi Dressen, and Volker Riess, Translated by Deborah Burnstone (New York: The Free Press, 1988), 67. 49 Komitee der Antifaschistischen Widerstandskämpfer der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, SS im Einsatz: Eine Dokumentation über die Verbrechen der SS (Berlin: Kongress – Verlag Berlin, 1957), 186. 50 Member of Einsatzgruppe 1A, statement, December 11, 1963, quoted in “The Good Old Days” The Holocaust as Seen by its Perpetrators and Bystanders, ed. Ernst Klee, Willi Dressen, and Volker Riess, Translated by Deborah Burnstone (New York: The Free Press, 1988), 81. 48


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shootings of Jews, for such a life was quite intolerable sober.”51 The statement reinforces the idea that alcohol was used by many to “escape” the brutal realities of life. However, as a result of helping these soldiers forget their moral wrongdoings as they exterminated the “lesser races,” the Nazis were actively breeding alcoholism within the ranks for their “racially superior” military. Alcohol in the Wehrmacht Alcohol consumption within the German forces during the Second World War was widespread, but was more prominent and better recorded in some branches of the military than others. The Wehrmacht, which consisted of the German army, navy, and air force, had the least recorded amount of alcohol consumption despite making up the largest portion of the German armed forces. The lack of records surrounding alcohol consumption in the Wehrmacht can be attributed to willful ignorance on the part of its leadership, as alcoholism was certainly an issue within its ranks. Additionally, the lack of sources can also be explained through the Wehrmacht’s lesser participation in mass executions and atrocities, resulting in a lower level of study and investigation of the alcohol problem in the Wehrmacht when compared to the SS, which committed the majority of the mass executions in the name of German racial policy. Intoxication and alcohol consumption was not as heavily encouraged in the Wehrmacht as it was in the SS. Officially, the Wehrmacht had a strict and prohibitive policy towards alcohol and threatened to punish offenders severely. On June 6, 1941, sixteen days before Germany invaded the Soviet Union, the Supreme Commander of the German Army, Walther von Brauchitsch, issued a secret order entitled: “In regard to Alcohol Misuse.” Brauchitsch summarized two of his previous orders from April and October of 1940: (a) When punishing offenses, those that are committed under the influence of alcohol, will be punished strictly and severely. According to the Supreme Command of the Army, drunkenness is grounds for disciplinary actions. In the future, all serious cases in which an officer undergoes disciplinary action, except in the case of judicial sentencing, must be reported to the official channels of the Supreme Command… (b) According to the Supreme Command Order of October 2, 1940, addressed to the Army Commanders and Field Marshalls… all offenses committed by officers while intoxicated will be immediately dismissed due to unsuitability. Serious and especially repeated offenses will result in dishonorable discharge.52 Despite Brauchitsch’s order issuing serious and unforgiving consequences for crimes committed while intoxicated and general “drunkenness,” alcohol consumption in the Wehrmacht was common. Peter Steinkamp, in his doctoral thesis, found that between September 1939 and September 1944, 1,343 soldiers of the Army died because of alcohol poisoning or alcohol related incidents.53 While this number may seem relatively low when compared to the size of the German Army, it is appropriate to assume that a substantial number of soldiers were consuming alcohol, despite not succumbing to alcohol poisoning or other accidents. However, there are very few primary source accounts on alcohol misuse in the Wehrmacht. Perhaps this Wilhelm I., interview, quoted in Christopher R. Browning, Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland (New York: HarperCollins Publisher, 1991), 82. 52 Walther von Brauchitsch, “Betr.: Alkoholmißbrauch,” June 6, 1941, quoted in Peter Steinkamp, “The Problem of Deviance in the Wehrmacht: Alcohol and Drug Abuse in the Troops” (PhD diss., University of Freiburg im Breisgau, 2008), 8. https://www.freidok.uni-freiburg.de/fedora/objects/freidok:5681/datastreams/ FILE1/content. 53 Steinkamp, “The Problem of Deviance in the Wehrmacht: Alcohol and Drug Abuse in the Troops,” 66. 51


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is because the misuse of alcohol was not as heavily investigated as it was in the SS. Inversely, the relative scarcity of sources could demonstrate a lower misuse of alcohol within the ranks of the Wehrmacht because it was not as heavily encouraged as it was in the SS. However, despite its general conservatism regarding alcohol, there is evidence that alcohol was used as a reward and motivator for soldiers of the Wehrmacht. In February of 1942, Joseph Goebbels, the Reich Minister of Propaganda, banned the sale of alcohol in Berlin in order to present it as a reward to the most efficient factories in Germany. Two-weeks later he ordered over 150,000 bottles of schnapps to be diverted to the Wehrmacht soldiers fighting on the Northern Front.54 This instance reveals that alcohol was used as a tool in the Wehrmacht, as well as on the home front. Sending the alcohol to the soldiers reveals that alcohol was viewed as a resource to reward or strengthen the Wehrmacht’s resolve, reinforcing the idea that alcohol was widespread in the Wehrmacht despite the scarcity of sources on the topic. Furthermore, the supply’s initial designation as a reward for factory workers demonstrates that alcohol was in fact used as a reward not just in the military, but also domestically to bolster moral and reward productivity on the home front. This undermines the regime’s own anti-alcohol policies as it encouraged the consumption of alcohol domestically. Additionally, this instance undermines the regime’s racial policies because it intended to supply its most productive workers with alcohol, while simultaneously transmitting the idea that alcoholics were inherently lazy and detrimental to society. Overall, this highlights the utilitarian use of alcohol under the Nazi regime both domestically and militarily. Assessing the Effectiveness of Nazi Alcohol Policy The dictatorial policies of the Nazi Regime that targeted alcoholics over the state’s twelve year existence resulted in an undetermined number of deaths of alcoholics. Alcoholics made up an unknown proportion of the over 70,000 “asocial” that were murdered by the Nazis, including a higher number having been imprisoned or subjected to forced sterilization.55 So the question remains, did the consumption of alcohol decrease in Germany as a result of the Nazis’ brutal authoritarian policies? All available statistical information on alcoholism in Germany indicates that the answer to this question is no. Rates of alcoholism increased during the Nazi Regime. During the peacetime years of the Third Reich, 1933 to 1938, “beer consumption went up by a quarter, wine consumption almost doubled, and champagne consumption increased five-fold.”56 A separate study which spanned the entire 1930s reinforced the findings of the previous study.57 Beer consumption increased by a third, to a total of 68 liters annually per person in 1938. Wine consumption had risen 50% to a total of 6 liters annually per person. Consumption of brandy nearly doubled and rose to 1-2 liters annually per person. However, a limitation of both these statistical surveys is that because of the Nazi alcohol policies, the population turned to adulterated beer and the illicit sale of alcohol. As these factors cannot be statistically evaluated, the rate of increase regarding alcohol consumption may have been much higher. A separate study also found that alcoholism gradually increased in the German population throughout the 1930s, and particularly increased during the war. The study also observed a higher increase Proctor, The Nazi War on Cancer Proctor, 153. Documenting the Number of Victims of the Holocaust and Nazi Persecution, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, last modified February 4, 2019, https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/documenting-numbers-of victims-of-the-holocaust-and-nazi-persecution. 56 Richard Grunberger, The 12-Year Reich: A Social History of Nazi Germany, 1933-1945 (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1971), 30. 57 Grunberger, The 12-Year Reich: A Social History of Nazi Germany, 1933-1945, 208. 54 55


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of alcoholism in women.58 Despite the limitations on these surveys, both examinations clearly show a rise in alcohol consumption while Hitler and the Nazis ruled over Germany. Overall, the Nazis’ domestic alcohol policies failed to stop the growth of alcohol consumption within the German population. Another explanation for the increase in alcohol consumption could be attributed to the economic growth that the Nazi regime fostered in Germany. The interwar years saw immense hyperinflation in Germany, and the Great Depression of 1929 devastated the German economy and played a large role in the Nazi party coming to power. In its first few years the Nazi regime focused on reviving the German economy, which could attribute to higher consumption of alcohol because the population could afford it. However, the regime’s willingness to ignore its anti-alcohol policies in the Wehrmacht, the SS, and even factory workers, suggests that preventing consumption was likely not the ultimate goal. Conclusion Alcohol policy in Germany between 1933 and 1945 was dictated by the Nazi regime’s pursuit of racial hygiene as well its need for social control of the population. The Nazis, as well as racial hygienists in Germany and other parts of the world, truly believed that traits such as alcoholism demonstrated an inherent deviance within a person that damaged the overall racial health of the German people. However, the increased targeting of the alcoholics within the larger group of the “asocial” demonstrates how alcohol policy was used to control people that did not fit into the new societal order. Other historians have studied the connection between alcohol policy and authoritarian regimes, concluding that illiberal regimes view alcohol negatively because these regimes seek to control all aspects of their populations’ actions and thoughts, and alcohol impedes on their ability to do this.59 This investigation took the study of anti-alcohol policy in Germany further than previous historians by focusing not only on the implications it carries for the sociology of the authoritarian states, but also the racial policies of the Nazi regime. The contradictory attitudes that the Nazis held in regards to domestic alcohol consumption, as opposed to in the military, undermined their stated pursuit of racial purity. The Nazi regime may have created more alcoholics – by encouraging drinking in the military – than it actually may have removed from the population through its anti-alcohol policies. While chronic alcoholics on the home front were forcefully sterilized, imprisoned, and killed in unknown numbers, the regime was actively supplying the Wehrmacht, and to a much higher degree the SS, with copious amounts of alcohol. The Nazis’ hypocritical approach to alcohol consumption exposes that the anti-alcohol policies were, to a greater extent, policies of social control, rather than part of the regime’s overall racial policy.

Grunberger, The 12-Year Reich: A Social History of Nazi Germany, 1933-1945, 228. Fahrenkrug, “Alcohol and the State in Nazi Germany.” And Fabian, “Drink and Power. Alcohol and the Making of Illiberal Regimes in the Long 20th Century,” TRAFO: Blog for Transregional Research (blog). 58 59


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Appendix Figure 1

Reich Propaganda Office. “The Fearful Legacy of an Alcoholic.” 1936. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Accessed Online: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/pa1072057 Figure 2

“Zwei Männer – Zwei Weltanschauungen.” Reine Luft 21 (1939), quoted in Robert N. Proctor, The Nazi War on Cancer Proctor. 151. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999.


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Figure 3

Reich Propaganda Office, “Unser Führer Adolf Hitler trinkt keinen Alkohol und raucht nicht” (1933) Deutsches Historisches Museum. Accessed Online: https://www.dhm.de/lemo/bestand/objekt/schild-unserfuehrer-adolf-hitler-trinkt-keinen-alkohol-nach-1932.html.


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Bibliography Primary Sources: “Das Gesetz zur Verhütung erbkranken Nachwuchses.” Law. Germany. July 25, 1933. Reichsgesetzblatt 1933 I, 529-531. “Gesetz gegen gefährliche Gewohnheitsverbrecher und über Massregeln der Sicherung und Besserung.” Law. Germany. November 24, 1933. Reichsgesetzblatt 1933 I, 995. Gonser, Immanuel. “Zweitende!” Auf Der Wacht 50 (1933), 37, quoted in Robert N. Proctor, The Nazi War on Cancer Proctor. 143. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999. Himmler, Heinrich. “Speech of the Reichsführer-SS at the SS Group Leader Meeting in Posen (Poznan).” 1943. Accessed online: http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/holoprelude/posen.html. Hitler, Adolf. Völkischer Beobachter, March 31, 1926, quoted in Robert N. Proctor, The Nazi War on Cancer Proctor. 143. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999. Interview with member of Einsatzgruppe 1A. December 11, 1963, quoted in “The Good Old Days” The Holocaust as Seen by its Perpetrators and Bystanders. Editors Ernst Klee, Willi Dressen, and Volker Riess. Translated by Deborah Burnstone. 81. New York: The Free Press, 1988. Kogen, Eugen. The Theory and Practice of Hell: The German Concentration Camps and the System Behind Them. Translated by Heinz Norden. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1950. Ploetz, Alfred. Basics of Racial Hygiene, Part I: The Efficiency of our Race and the Protection of the Weak. Berlin: S. Fischer, 1895. Accessed Online: https://archive.org/details/b28055433/ page/n5/mode/2up/search/alkoholismus. Reich Propaganda Office. “The Fearful Legacy of an Alcoholic.” 1936. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Accessed Online: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/ pa1072057 Reich Propaganda Office. “Unser Führer Adolf Hitler trinkt keinen Alkohol und raucht nicht.” 1933 .Deutsches Historisches Museum. Accessed Online: https://www.dhm.de/lemo/ bestand/objekt/schild-unser-fuehrer-adolf-hitler-trinkt-keinen-alkohol-nach-1932. html. Reichssicherheitshauptamt. “Grundlegender Erlass über die vorbeugende Verbrechensbekämpfung durch die Polizei des Reichs – und Preussischen Ministers des Innen vom 14.12.1937.” Vorbeugende Verbrechensbekämpfung (Berlin, 1942), 41, quoted in Michael Burleigh and Wolfgang Wippermann, The Racial State: Germany 1933-1945. 173. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991. Spencer, Herbert. The Principles of Biology. London: Williams and Norgate, 1864. Accessed Online: https://archive.org/details/principlesbiolo05spengoog/page/n10/mode/2up. Von Verschuer, Otmar Freiherr. Erbpathologie: Ein Lehrbuch für Ärzte und Medizinstudierende, 1934, quoted in Proctor, Racial Hygiene: Medicine Under the Nazis. 178. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1988. Walther von Brauchitsch, “Betr.: Alkoholmißbrauch,” June 6, 1941, quoted in Peter Steinkamp, “The Problem of Deviance in the Wehrmacht: Alcohol and Drug Abuse in the Troops.” 8. PhD diss., University of Freiburg im Breisgau, 2008. https://www.freidok.uni freiburg.de/fedora/objects/freidok:5681/datastreams/FILE1/content. Werner, Kurt. Interview, May 28, 1964, quoted in “The Good Old Days” The Holocaust as Seen by its Perpetrators and Bystanders, ed. Ernst Klee, Willi Dressen, and Volker Riess, Translated by Deborah Burnstone. 67. New York: The Free Press, 1988.


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Wilhelm I. Interview, quoted in Christopher R. Browning, Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland. 82. New York: HarperCollins Publisher, 1991. “Zwei Männer – Zwei Weltanschauungen.” Reine Luft 21 (1939), quoted in Robert N. Proctor, The Nazi War on Cancer Proctor. 151. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999. Secondary Sources: Breitman, Richard. The Architect of Genocide: Himmler and the Final Solution. Hanover: University Press of New England, 1991. Browning, Christopher R. Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland. New York: HarperCollins Publisher, 1991. Burleigh, Michael, and Wolfgang Wippermann. The Racial State: Germany 1933-1945. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991. Documenting the Number of Victims of the Holocaust and Nazi Persecution. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Last modified February 4, 2019. https://encyclopedia. ushmm.org/content/en/article/documenting-numbers-of-victims-of-the-holocaust and-nazi-persecution. Fabian, Sina. “Drink and Power. Alcohol and the Making of Illiberal Regimes in the Long 20th Century.” TRAFO: Blog for Transregional Research (blog). March 14, 2019. https:// trafo.hypotheses.org/18220 Fahrenkrug, Hermann. “Alcohol and the State in Nazi Germany,” in Drinking: Behavior and Belief in Modern History. Edited by Susanna Barrows and Robin Room. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1991. Grunberger, Richard. The 12-Year Reich: A Social History of Nazi Germany, 1933-1945. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1971. Klee, Ernst, Willi Dressen, and Volker Riess, eds.. “The Good Old Days” The Holocaust as Seen by its Perpetrators and Bystanders. Translated by Deborah Burnstone. New York: The Free Press, 1988. Komitee der Antifaschistischen Widerstandskämpfer der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik. SS im Einsatz: Eine Dokumentation über die Verbrechen der SS. Berlin: Kongress – Verlag Berlin, 1957. Lewy, Jonathan. “A Sober Reich? Alcohol and Tobacco Use in Nazi Germany.” Substance Use & Misuse 41, no. 8 (2006): 1179-1195. Mann, Karl, Derik Hermann, and Andreas Heinz. “One Hundred Years of Alcoholism: The Twentieth.” Alcohol and Alcoholism 35, no. 1 (January 2000): 10–15. https://academic. oup.com/alcalc/article/35/1/10/142396. Proctor, Robert N. Racial Hygiene: Medicine Under the Nazis. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1988. Proctor, Robert N. The Nazi War on Cancer Proctor. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999. Steinkamp, Peter. “The Problem of Deviance in the Wehrmacht: Alcohol and Drug Abuse in the Troops.” PhD diss., University of Freiburg im Breisgau, 2008. https://www.freidok. uni-freiburg.de/fedora/objects/freidok:5681/datastreams/FILE1/content. Wachsmann, Nikolaus. Hitler’s Prisons: Legal Terror in Germany. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004. Westermann, Edward B. “Stone-Cold Killers or Drunk with Murder? Alcohol and Atrocity during the Holocaust.” Holocaust and Genocide Studies 39, no. 1 (Spring 2016): 1-19.


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About the Author Jannis Ernst is a member of the Class of 2020 at Christopher Newport University, and recently graduated with a B.A. in History and Political Science, as well as a minor in U.S. National Securities Studies. Jannis is originally from Kรถln, Germany, but immigrated to the United States where his family has lived in northern Virginia since 2004. During his time at CNU, Jannis was a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity, the leadership honor society Omicron Delta Kappa, and the history honors society Phi Alpha Theta. After taking some time to travel, Jannis hopes to pursue graduate education either in the field of history or strategic arms control.


“US Anti-Drug Failure and Terror Funding in Afghanistan” Claire Flores Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Crystal Shelton, Department of Political Science

Abstract The relationship between drugs and crime is a well-understood phenomenon throughout the world. Because of its worldwide interests, the United States has been involved in anti-drug efforts with varying levels of efficacy throughout history. The most recent of these was the American attempt to disrupt the Taliban’s revenue stream through drug interdiction operations in Afghanistan. This research addresses the importance of the opium trade to Afghan insurgent groups and causes of the US’s failure to cut off trafficking, including criminalization of everyday citizens and ineffectiveness of strikes on drug labs. It then considers ways in which the US might change its approach to the issue. In concluding that poppy cultivation and the opium trade are essential not only to terrorist organizations but to many civilians, this research suggests a reexamination of the current approach. A strategy that merges military and civilian capabilities in an effort to build confidence among local populations and establish legitimacy for the national government is a promising way to counter Taliban recruitment and funding in the state. This research recommends shifting to a unified command structure with these priorities.


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The Taliban and its connected terror organizations pose a threat to both United States (US) interests in their areas of operation and to the safety of American personnel in these regions and at home. The US’s goal is to preserve the gains made since 2001 and create a situation conducive to internal sovereignty and peace (“War in Afghanistan”). The Council on Foreign Relations noted that “a resurgence of the Taliban insurgency could once again turn Afghanistan into a terrorist safe haven” (“War in Afghanistan”). McNally and Bucala’s 2015 report on threats to Afghanistan’s security concurs: “Far from defeated, the ongoing Afghan insurgency remains a serious challenge and threatens to reverse hard-won prior gains” (McNally). The report details that the Taliban’s actions in Afghanistan pose a threat to US objectives for several reasons. First, the national government’s control over physical territory is endangered by the group’s presence. As of 2019, only about 54 percent of districts were either controlled or influenced by the central government. Roughly 34 percent were contested and 12 percent were under Taliban control or influence; though this is a significant improvement from the height of the conflict, it is important to consider that “the Taliban does not have to formally occupy territory to control what happens in it,” according to the Overseas Development Institute. (“Report to the US Congress”). The group poses a continuous threat to several regional capitals, having intermittently captured or attempted to capture areas of strategic importance in every part of the state (“War in Afghanistan’’). In addition, the Afghan National Security Force, or ANSF, do not have adequate capabilities to deal with insurgencies, as doing so is resource-intensive and requires extensive inter-agency cooperation. According to the State Department, “counterinsurgency (COIN) is an extremely complex undertaking, which demands of policy makers a detailed understanding of their own specialist field, but also a broad knowledge of a wide variety of related disciplines” (“Counterinsurgency Guide”). The State Department’s report notes the difficulties the US expects in implementing COIN strategies, and the government in Afghanistan is far less capable than the US COIN apparatus. The Afghan central government’s weakness, combined with the national army’s general lack of efficacy in establishing security, created a situation not conducive to counterinsurgency success (“Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan). The CFR estimates that the Afghan National Defense and Security Force, or ANDSF, suffered as many as 30 to 40 deaths per day as a result of the conflict (“War in Afghanistan”). Six consecutive years of 10,000 or more civilian deaths has brought the total number of documented civilian casualties since 2010 to over 100,000 (United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan). It is clear that the state cannot currently contain the Taliban insurgency. The group remains a threat; in the week of April 10-16, 2020, they claimed ten attacks with roughly fifty casualties total. There were also deaths from improvised explosive devices that may or may not be later attributed to the group. For these reasons, it is crucial to find and interdict the Taliban’s sources of funding. In Afghanistan, over half of the group’s income comes from opium (Hennigan). Cordesman estimates that the Taliban receive roughly 20 percent of the total value of opium production and trade in Afghanistan (Cordesman). According to the UN, they collect this through a tax on farmers and by acting as “the major guarantors for the trafficking of raw opium and heroin out of Afghanistan” (Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team). The military initiated a campaign to eliminate facilities relating to the drug’s production and processing, which is widely accepted to be a failure (Coyne et al.). As worldwide terror groups continue to draw funding from the illicit drug trade (“Drug Trafficking”), it is important that the US understand the reasons why their anti-drug campaign in Afghanistan failed in order to adjust their approach to future efforts of a similar nature. This research will address why the US anti-drug campaign in Afghanistan has failed to reduce the production of illegal narcotics, primarily opium, and by extension, terror groups’ profit from the industry. It concludes that the nature of the relationship between the insurgency and the drug trade contributed to the effort’s failure; additionally, the strategy employed in 2017’s Operation Iron Tempest failed to deal with the issue holistically.


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This research will begin by outlining the ways in which the Taliban profits from narcotic trade as well as giving a brief overview of US involvement in anti-drug efforts there. The paper will deal with less recent actions in addition to 2017-2018’s Operation Iron Tempest, which employed air strikes and Special Forces raids on facilities linked to the narcotic trade. The operation is understood to have been unsuccessful, and data on the rates of opium production over time cements this claim. Secondly, the research will address the problems created by the US’s approach to the issue of narcotrafficking in Afghanistan including criminalization of ordinary citizens (Coyne, et al.) and the ineffectiveness of air strikes and raids on “drug labs” (Hennigan). The final portion of the research will recommend ways in which the US could change their approach to dealing with the issue of narcotrafficking in Afghanistan and other states with similar problems in order to better sever the link between illicit drug profits and terrorist activity. While every case is discrete, there are themes and lessons to be learned from the failures of the current administration’s approach to coercing the Taliban into negotiations—Iron Tempest was part of the commander of NATO’s Resolute Support Mission and United States Forces – Afghanistan, General Miller’s, strategy of aggressive “airstrikes and raids on Taliban leadership in order to force them to make a deal at the negotiating table” (Hennigan). As the operation appears to have neither made the terror group more willing to negotiate nor weakened their links to the opium trade, it is clear that US strategic-level leadership should reevaluate their approach and take steps to refine it. OPIUM AND THE TALIBAN A United States Institute of Peace’s, or UNIP, 2019 publication provides an extensive analysis of how the Taliban uses one the region’s most abundant resources, poppy fields, to fund their operations. The general link between terrorism and narcotrafficking is well-understood; Piazza found that “opium production is a more robust predictor of terrorism than nearly all other province features...the direction of causation runs from opium production to higher rates of terrorism, not otherwise.” Although this study was not focused on the Taliban in particular, it summarizes well the causal link between terrorism in Afghanistan and the opium trade. Piazza also notes that these terror groups, including the Taliban, utilize the money acquired through their involvement in the drug trade for recruitment, leader pay, buying weapons and equipment, and bribery (Piazza). UNIP, too, found that these funds travel up the group’s chain of command and play a “key role in funding the operational costs of the Taliban…” (Peters) Although this research does not assert that the Soviet invasion and subsequent decades of conflict introduced the opium trade to the region—it has been present throughout most of recorded history—there is no doubt that the economic hardship caused by war dramatically increased the rate of narcotics production. The jump in production from 200 tons in 1979 to 4,200 tons of poppy cultivation in 2004 provides a brief glimpse into this exponential growth (Kreutzmann). Opium’s political importance has mirrored its increased production, but according to the UNIP report, Western powers tend to downplay it in order to focus on more pressing counterinsurgency issues (Peters). However, insurgency and narcotrafficking in Afghanistan are inexorably linked. As previously discussed, the Taliban draws significant funding from opium, which it uses to finance its operations. UNIP also concludes that the corruption resulting from the drug trade is a powerful contributor to the Taliban’s success. Lack of data makes discussing leaders’ corruption and drug involvement in much detail challenging, but there is no doubt that it is rampant. A report from the Afghan Drugs Inter Departmental Unit of the UK Government concluded that “Whether correct or incorrect, the overall perception in the south is that corrupt government officials are earning more money from their direct or indirect involvement in the drug trade” (Mansfield). It is clear that many Afghans believe that their government is involved in narcotrafficking. In addition to making it harder to enforce anti-drug laws, corruption erodes popular trust in the already-weak central government, which struggles to claim


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legitimacy in the conflict with insurgent groups. The state, already decentralized to the point of ineffectiveness, has consistently lacked the ability or willingness to stamp out corruption within its ranks (Cordesman). As local leadership, which is often quite powerful due to the state’s decentralized structure, becomes involved in the opium trade, the Taliban have diversified. Whereas they previously focused on extorting money and protection fees from individuals and businesses, their new strategy includes heroin production as well as kidnapping and smuggling operations, with group members “behaving more like mafiosi than mujahideen” (Peters). The Taliban, though previously opposed to opium production, understand well the industry’s profitability; Afghan civilians are aware of this dichotomy. More than 80 percent of those surveyed for the USIP’s report believe insurgent commanders are involved in the movement for the money more than they are committed to its ideology, and NATO data obtained by the report’s authors concur, stating that “As few as five percent of insurgent commanders now fight for ideological reasons” (Peters). To summarize, increasingly strong relationships between the insurgency and crime makes them a better-financed and more well-established force to unseat (Peters). US ANTI-DRUG EFFORTS Since the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, US and Coalition forces have made efforts to cease opium production, understanding its contributions to the insurgency’s revenue stream. Between 2002 and 2016, the US spent $8.4 billion on drug interdiction operations and established thirteen Drug Enforcement Agency offices in Afghanistan as part of a policy of “exporting” domestic counter narcotic initiatives (Coyne, et al.). Despite this, and barring intermittent droppages, opium poppy cultivation continued to skyrocket while the US was present in Afghanistan (see fig. 1).

Fig. 1. Area under Opium Poppy Cultivation in Afghanistan by Year from Coyne, et al. “The War on Drugs in Afghanistan: Another Failed Experiment with Interdiction.” The Independent Review, vol. 21, no. 1, 2016, pp. 95–119., www.jstor.org/stable/43999678. In summarizing this failure, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, or UNODC, stated that “the area under opium poppy cultivation...has nearly tripled” between 2002 and 2013, bringing Afghanistan to the “verge of becoming a fully-fledged narco-state” (Coyne, et al.). It is evident that the overall strategy employed throughout most of the war was an ineffective mechanism for dealing with the drug trade. Cordesman, et al. found that the vast majority of Afghan provinces saw an increase in opium poppy cultivation solely between


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2016 and 2017, continuing the trend of collapsed anti-drug efforts there (fig. 2). According to Cordesman, the Taliban-influenced province of Helmand is an especially major contributor to this increase in cultivation (Cordesman).

Fig. 2. Increased Cultivation in Power Broker and Threat Influenced Provinces: 2016-2017 from Cordesman, Anthony H. “Afghan Narcotics: 2000-2018: From Control and Elimination Efforts to a Drug Economy and Bombings Labs.” Center for Strategic and International Studies, 29 May 2018. More recently, 2017-2018’s Operation Iron Tempest, an effort to destroy Taliban drug labs, was concluded after failing to meet its end state. The operation comprised part of the US’s counter-threat finance operations in the region, which has a stated purpose of “disrupt[ing] and degrad[ing] Taliban resources through air strikes and raids that target narcotics production, processing, trading, and transportation” (“Report to the US Congress”). Operation Freedom’s Sentinel’s 2018 Report to the US Congress, states that while Iron Tempest led to “confusion” among insurgents, the actual impact of US Special Forces raids and air strikes were less significant than were other factors in reducing narcotic production there. While there was a 20 percent decline in drug production between 2017 and 2018, the UN credits this to extreme drought in parts of the state’s northern provinces as well as economic factors leading to lower prices for the drug in other regions (“Report to the US Congress”). CHALLENGES TO THE US APPROACH One of the issues presented by US-led efforts to stamp out narcotics production in Afghanistan is surface-level. Iron Tempest, a 2017-2018 operation, was based on General Miller’s strategy of high-tempo ground and air raids on Taliban facilities and key leaders with a goal of forcing them into negotiations. In dealing with the Islamic State’s oil smuggling, airstrikes on their facilities were highly effective. However, employing a similar strategy in Afghanistan did not yield the same results. One of the reasons for this is that Taliban “drug labs” targeted by US anti-opium action in the state are built inexpensively and quickly, often consisting of simple huts equipped with a stove, barrels, and the chemicals required to process opium into heroin. For this reason, losing them hardly dents the organization’s profits. Though airstrikes took out some of these huts, Mansfield estimated that one of the strikes which senior US officials lauded as being worth “millions of dollars” was, in fact, “worth at most $190,750 if converted to heroin and no more than $2,863 to the Taliban,” a result he called “negligible”(Mansfield).


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In total, a Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) report estimated that the operation kept roughly $42 million in drug money from the Taliban and $200 million from others involved in narcotrafficking. When viewed side-by-side with the costs of using F-22 fighters to carry out these raids, totaling approximately $35,000 per flight for hundreds of missions, the results of Iron Tempest are especially disappointing, with narcotics production reaching an all-time high in 2018 (Cordesman). The strategy of attacking individual processing stations is analogous to pruning the branches of a tree to kill it rather than cutting it off at the root and proved equally ineffective. It would be irresponsible to discuss the narcotics trade in Afghanistan without addressing the ways in which it benefits civilian farmers. As previously discussed, the state’s opium production began to flourish as a result of the economic hardships resulting from the 1989 Soviet invasion. In a country ravaged by decades of conflict, small farmers rely on the crop to support themselves and their families. 2014 estimates cite the opium economy as providing over 400,000 full-time jobs in a state where many people live in extreme poverty (Coyne). Although legalization has been proposed, the state lacks enforcement mechanisms and doing so would likely add to the black market’s supply. From a macro perspective, opium is “a significant source of foreign exchange,” representing around 15 percent of Afghanistan’s GDP in 2013, roughly the same amount as legal agriculture contributed (Cordesman). Though data is limited, UNODC reports that the state is by far the world’s largest source of opiates, having produced more than 90 percent of illegal opiates annually since the 1990s (fig. 3).

Fig. 3. Afghanistan’s Global Role in Opiates: 1998-2014 from Cordesman, Anthony H. “Afghan Narcotics: 2000-2018: From Control and Elimination Efforts to a Drug Economy and Bombings Labs.” Center for Strategic and International Studies, 29 May 2018. Coyne, et al. notes the importance of the drug trade to Afghan civilians in his analysis of consequences of the US’s war on drugs in Afghanistan; one of these was the criminalization of everyday citizens. In his view, US policies aimed at stemming the flow of revenue to insurgent groups had the effect of encouraging previously-unaligned or sympathetic civilians to side with the Taliban, which was able to protect them from US prosecution for narcotrafficking. Many individuals turn to opium farming as the only way to support themselves; one farmer explained in an interview that for other products, such as corn and wheat, “we have no market. We can’t export [the other crops] and get a good price. We can’t even sustain our families” (Coyne, et. al). Turning participation in this trade into a crime alienated the populace, making them less


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likely to cooperate with US personnel and pushing them, in the words of Special Representative Holbrooke, “into the arms of the Taliban” (Coyne, et al.). Recognizing this trend, US policymakers began to shift their strategy in 2009, but Coyne purports that the detrimental effects on US counterinsurgency were already in motion by this point. POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS Previous attempts to curtail the opium industry in Afghanistan have failed to identify and deal with the primary contributors to the drug trade there. For this reason, it would be prudent to reexamine the approach to find ways to improve it. Several scholars have offered suggestions. According to Peters, it is “no longer possible to treat the insurgency and the drug trade as separate matters, to be handled by military and law enforcement, respectively” (Peters). As discussed in prior sections, there is an inexorable linkage between the Taliban and the opium trade in Afghanistan. The group, whose shadow government is the most stable organization available to many civilians, draws funding from and encourages poppy cultivation. While previous strategies have consisted of the military dealing with the Taliban and other government agencies with counter drug efforts, combining these operations under a unified command could help synchronize missions and better evaluate various approaches’ successes and failures. In addition to structural changes, it is essential that Coalition forces win back the “hearts and minds” of Afghan civilians (Peters). This research previously addressed how US tactics at the height of the conflict alienated the populace, driving them to align with the Taliban. The group’s center of gravity, like that of any insurgency or guerilla force, is the people. Although NATO forces are not especially well-liked among Afghans, the Taliban are held in equal if not more contempt. This, according to Peters, presents an opportunity for the US to make headway. Violence resulting from the drug trade is generally ascribed to the Taliban, damaging the group’s legitimacy among civilians. This is especially true in the state’s southern and southwestern provinces where poppy cultivation is most prevalent and where the insurgency exerts significant influence (Peters). Implementing a strategy focused on rebuilding and securing communities ravaged by insurgents and traffickers could go a long way in both deterring people from joining the Taliban and in gaining support for US objectives there. Currently, “the greatest perceived threat is crime and economic instability, not the insurgency” (Peters). By extension, a holistic approach aimed at the causes of financial hardship among rural Afghans would create a situation more conducive to stopping the drug trade than would continued air and ground operations targeting heroin production sites. While the ultimate goal is a central government with the capability and willingness to enforce drug policy themselves, the current climate makes this strategy’s immediate implementation unlikely. For this reason, the targets of this aid should be local governments and tribal leadership, generally the most organized structures present. CONCLUSION To conclude, previous experience in Afghanistan has proven that the narcotrafficking crisis there is a symptom of, rather than a cause of, instability in the state. The Taliban have exploited the industry to create an empire from which they draw significant funding for their operations. As they are still the most potent threat to US objectives in Afghanistan, readdressing the strategy for mitigating the drug trade is a responsible choice. In order to cultivate a more beneficial relationship with the populace, the US should avoid criminalizing and prosecuting small growers at the same rate it did at the height of the conflict; this course of action punishes people for supporting themselves and their families in one of the only ways available. Instead, focusing on educating local leadership and providing them with the resources necessary to transition away from an opium-based economy toward a licit agricultural one will help to create a situation less conducive to the insurgency’s recruitment process, ultimately setting the stage for a unified national government capable of internal sovereignty and self-policing.


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Works Cited Abed, Fahim. “Afghan War Casualty Report: April 2020.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 2 Apr. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/04/02/magazine/afghan-war-} casualty-report-april-2020.html. “Afghanistan: 10,000 Civilian Casualties for Sixth Straight Year.” UNAMA, 22 Feb. 2020, unama.unmissions.org/afghanistan-10000-civilian-casualties-sixth-straight-year. Jones, Seth G. Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan. Vol. 4, RAND National Defense Research Institute, 2008. Cordesman, Anthony H. “Afghan Narcotics: 2000-2018: From Control and Elimination Efforts to a Drug Economy and Bombings Labs.” Center for Strategic and International Studies, 29 May 2018, www.csis.org/analysis/afghan-narcotics-2000-2018-controland-elimination-efforts-drug-economy-and-bombings-labs. Coyne, Christopher J., et al. “The War on Drugs in Afghanistan: Another Failed Experiment with Interdiction.” The Independent Review, vol. 21, no. 1, 2016, pp. 95–119., www.jstor. org/stable/43999678. Accessed 9 Feb. 2020. Hennigan, W.J. “U.S. Military Ends Anti-Drug Campaign in Afghanistan.” Time, Time, 21 Feb. 2019, time.com/5534783/iron-tempest-afghanistan-opium/. Kilcullen, David, et al. U.S. Government Counterinsurgency Guide. Department of State Washington Dc, 2009. Kreutzmann, Hermann. “Afghanistan and the Opium World Market: Poppy Production and Trade.” Iranian Studies, vol. 40, no. 5, 2007, pp. 605–621. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/ stable/25597418. Accessed 19 Apr. 2020. Mansfield, David. “Heroin Labs in Afghanistan - Mansfield - LSE Home.” LSE International Drug Policy Unit, London School of Economics and Political Science, Jan. 2018, www. lse.ac.uk/united-states/Assets/Documents/Heroin-Labs-in-Afghanistan-Mansfield.pdf. McNally, Lauren, and Paul Bucala. “The Taliban Resurgent: Threats to Afghanistan’s Security.” The Taliban Resurgent: Threats to Afghanistan’s Security, Mar. 2015. Operation Freedom’s Sentinel Report to the United States Congress. 31 Dec. 2018, https://media. defense.gov/2019/Feb/20/2002091054/-1/-1/1/FY2019_LIG_OCOREPORT.PDF. Accessed 09 February 2020. Peters, Gretchen. How Opium Profits the Taliban. United States Institute of Peace, Aug 2019, https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/resources/taliban_opium_1.pdf. Accessed 09 February 2020. Piazza, James A. “The Opium Trade and Patterns of Terrorism in the Provinces of Afghanistan: An Empirical Analysis.” Terrorism and Political Violence, vol. 24, no. 2, 14 Mar. 2012, pp. 213–234., doi:10.1080/09546553.2011.648680. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction’s Quarterly Report to the United States Congress. 30 Jan. 2019, https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2019-01 30qr.pdf. Accessed 18 April 2020. “War in Afghanistan | Global Conflict Tracker.” Council on Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign Relations, 20 Apr. 2020, www.cfr.org/interactive/global-conflict-tracker/ conflict/war-afghanistan. United Nations Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team on specific cases of cooperation between organized crime syndicates and individuals, groups, undertakings and entities eligible for listing under paragraph 1 of Security Council resolution 2160 (United Nations, 2014), https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/s_2015_79.pdf


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“United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.” Drug Trafficking and the Financing of Terrorism, 21 Nov. 2019, www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/drug-trafficking-and-the-financingof-terrorism.html.

About the Author Claire Flores is from Charlottesville, Virginia, and in 2020 graduated summa cum laude from Christopher Newport University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and minors in US National Security Studies and Spanish. She previously presented research at Christopher Newport’s 2019 Paideia student research conference. After completing Christopher Newport University’s ROTC program, Claire was recognized as a Distinguished Military Graduate and commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the US Army Medical Service Corps in 2020. She will serve in the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg, NC, following additional training.


“‘A Curse of Nonexistence’: Case Studies of Sexuality & Power in Post-Soviet Literature” Danielle Forand Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Margarita Marinova, Department of English

Abstract Objective. In Eastern-European literature, sex is used as a metaphor for power. The tension existing between the West and postmodern societies is one of many sources of female sexual repression and male domination. When the Soviet Union disintegrated in the late 1990s, women were forced to rediscover their public and private selves. Cultural and regional traditions have kept these women subordinate for decades, and it is essential that their plights and their stories are told. Methods. This paper examines female sexuality through the written works of Oksana Zabuzkho’s Fieldwork in Ukrainian Sex, Emiliya Dvoryanova’s Concerto for Sentence, and Slavenka Drakulic’s The Taste of a Man. Further research is drawn from various scholarly articles and journals regarding the Soviet Union and the impact of its collapse on former Soviet states. Conclusion. As a contradiction to a typically male-dominated field, both in reality and in literature, these authors challenge preconceived notions about women and sex. Eastern European women have been pushed and pulled by everyone around them: their government, their lovers and husbands, and themselves. They struggle to understand what their place in sexual relationships should be and whether they deserve full equality in the bedroom if they have never experienced it anywhere else. Through more time apart from Soviet influence and changing technology, perhaps these women will experience a true sexual awakening that affords them the pleasure and joy in sex they are entitled to.


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“You’re screaming from the abuse and they think it’s from pleasure, or maybe they’re not thinking that at all, maybe your pain is exactly what it takes to make them come” (Zabuzhko 143). This jarring quotation from Oksana Zabuzkho’s Fieldwork in Ukrainian Sex was written to be violent, shocking, and disheartening. Statements like these are rarely made in Western novels, regardless of genre, but Zabuzhko and other Eastern European authors shatter that expectation. In post-Soviet literature, female authors use sex as a metaphor for many things, including power, humiliation, and the search for identity. The tension existing in postmodern societies is one of many sources of female sexual repression and male domination. This essay will examine the ways in which women in post-Soviet societies strive to discover their sexual selves in direct contradiction to traditions that have kept them subordinate for decades. By taking a thorough dive into Zabuzkho’s Fieldwork, Emiliya Dvoryanova’s Concerto for Sentence, and Slavenka Drakulic’s The Taste of a Man, themes begin to emerge that shed a light on female sexuality in a post-Soviet world. Men as Conquerors: Violent Sex To fully appreciate the barriers to sexual realization Eastern European women have had to overcome, one must first consider their primary obstacle: men. This is the case for women in many parts of the globe that hail from male-dominated, patriarchal societies. Their political and individual rights were overtaken by men, and similarly, their traditional sexual roles became subordinate. Many men believed that women in this time had an innate desire to be dominated in life and in the bedroom, so they purposefully sought meek and submissive wives (Ashwin 86). Additionally, they implemented such ideals into government policy. Women in Soviet states were encouraged to be mothers above everything else, producing workers who would then become valuable members of society (Ashwin 87). This identity of women as machines whose sole purpose was to create more citizens, preferably male, led to an internal conflict between who women were told they were and who they wanted to be. “No, I would really like for someone to explain to me: why the hell would one come into the world a woman (and in Ukraine, yet!)— with this fucking dependency programmed into your body like a delayed action bomb…” (Zabuzhko 13). This “dependency,” as Zabuzhko puts it, was facilitated by men as a means to control the opposite sex. While this was overt in Soviet and post-Soviet countries, it occurred with men and women generally, too. It was especially conspicuous in intimate relationships between women and men. “There was no gentleness or passion in his movements now as he held my arms above my head with one hand and spread my legs open wide with the other. He rammed himself at me, as if collecting a debt. He deliberately hurt me” (Drakulic 92). In The Taste of a Man, Tereza is beaten by her lover as retribution for her affair with another man. Patrick, her lover, savagely attacks her while he rapes her, bruising her body and causing her to bleed. While this is an extreme that is rarely seen in modern relationships, the rage felt by Patrick demands to be examined in depth. According to research, gendered power ultimately defeats sexual and personal relationships as reinforced roles damage the psychology of both parties involved (Ciccocioppo 586). In couples, this can be seen in many areas of life. From the way two people speak to each other, to their body language, one can witness the effects of such idealistic conditioning. “I can’t take the roughness anymore, the coldness, the way he puts his hand on the closest seat adjacent to him so I have to cross to sit just where he wants me, and be sure not to touch him in the process…” (Dvoryanova 4). Dvoryanova describes this relationship between a Bulgarian husband and wife where she is clearly uncomfortable to even simply sit beside him. Men, in this way, are either conscious of or completely unaware of the norms they perpetuate in mundane actions. While they may not choose to act as such, it is still seen and felt by the women they are connected to. The “underlying legacy of male power” manifests itself in many ways, but sex is a


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unique arena of life where more animalistic and brutal tendencies reveal themselves (Ciccocioppo 586). All three authors depict instances of violence in sex between men and women, whether as vicious as Fieldwork or as psychopathic as Concerto. In Dvoryanova’s version, her female protagonist engages in a brief affair with a fellow musician after sharing a private performance of the Chaconne with him in her hotel room. “She felt the sharpness of the blade touch her at the base of her spine— the seat of orgasm, they say… how beautiful if this is my moment to die…” (Dvoryanova 98). The beige man, as he is called in the novel, cuts her skin and bleeds her as a sexual fetish before asking her to repeat the action on himself. Causing her pain, both physically and psychologically, by harming her body in such a calculated and severe manner was a way for him to exert command over her. While premeditated, and by Dvoryanova’s account consensual, this act was one of pure masculine dominion over the female body. The physical form of females is often defined by male standards and sexual desires. This has been seen for many years in various places across the world. Particularly in post-colonial societies, male bodily fluids are seen to give meaning to feminine shapes and symbols of femininity (McClintock 3). In maps and geography of these regions, lakes and rivers are named for men and mountains, subjected to the will of water, are representative of women (McClintock 3). Objectifying women to be no more than land waiting to be conquered by men is seen through these novels, as well. “In the beginning she would still try to come to some understanding, to explain that she too may have some preliminary requests, and not just ‘down there:’ is there nothing other than my sex organs that interests you?” asks Zabuzhko (7). Continuing, the character discusses her lover’s will to have her accept him inside her, calling her genitals “she” instead of seeing the character as her own person. “It’s not ‘she,’ it’s you that’s opening up” (Zabuzhko 8). The male in this relationship only views her as his conquest, the sheath for his sword. Later, this objectification leads to abuse, intensifying the nature of men to dominate and take sexual relationships to a new level of barbarism. Zabuzkho’s character exemplifies the impact of post-Soviet male dominance over women in a sexual context through a Ukrainian couple. The male in this instance “woke up and hurt her, hurt her for real, forget the pain of losing your virginity, painful intercourse, that’s how the phenomenon is defined…” (Zabuzhko 24). He took their sexual relationship to a place of violence and physical subjugation to satisfy his need to be in control of her. “I’m also actually quite seriously ill, my frightened, hungry, and if we’re not going to bother with euphemisms then we could just say raped body has been unable, for the third month now, to curtail this light internal tremor…” (Zabuzhko 35). Despite the physical toll her body took, the protagonist is psychologically damaged as a result of her partner’s intense desire to destroy her sexually. She is traumatized, as many Eastern European women are depicted, by the harsh reality of her perceived subordinance. Drakulic approaches her view of male supremacy in a slightly different manner than Zabuzhko and Dvoryanova. Her female character is madly in love with her other sexual partner, José. When they first make love, Tereza describes his passion and occupation of her as a positive occurrence. “It must be José reminding me that I am still completely in his power. My memory, my feelings, my flesh, me, that is all his now, all his. He decides everything, he controls everything. Never again will I be my own master” (Drakulic 52). While she is aware of her subordinate role, she is willing to believe it is correct and the way their relationship should be. For her, male domination was not a war she lost but a state of being she craved. Shifting Identities & Sexual Turmoil While women in Soviet societies were conditioned to accept oppression, they recognize their struggle and push back against this misconception. After the fall of the Soviet regime and the emergence of neo-liberal reforms in many countries, women were granted new opportunities in their lives (Rigi 1). Not only were they to make the home, but they too were expected to


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contribute to the workforce of the state. Their roles professionally and domestically shifted, so it is only natural their sexual identities reflected this sudden confusion. In the media, sex was made abundantly available through television, film, and literature (Borenstein 1). Past taboos were forgotten as men and women dealt with the technological age and its expanding sexual horizons (Bocharova 47). Post-Soviet women were both confused and empowered by these changing times. This is best reflected in Drakulic’s The Taste of a Man. Tereza works her way to a motherly, caregiving position throughout the novel. She builds from José’s control of her, eventually orchestrating every aspect of his life and death. “I felt his breath slip through his vocal chords and enter me like a serpent made of panting air, mucous and the desperate need to penetrate me through my every opening. For me to absorb his dissolving voice. For him to be inside me, at last. To end in me” (Drakulic 70). She ultimately kills him and eats him, consuming him in a way not unlike his spirit consumed hers. This power transferal is illustrated in the scene of José’s death, when she begins to eat pieces of his fingers. “I would not say that I enjoyed sitting there in the kitchen, eating the meat. It no longer had anything to do with ritual, or with the ceremonial pleasure I had felt initially. This was not something I had foreseen” (Drakulic 185). With power shoved into her hands as she took José’s life and devoured his body, Tereza was conflicted and left longing. Hours following her deed, she began to have doubts. “I was afraid. There, in front of the mirror, for the first time, I was afraid of what I had done” (Drakulic 187). This internal turmoil was present with women and their changing identities in sex as well as in spirit. In Concerto, Virginia has a similar conflict that leads to her suicide. Dvoryanova harkens back to the explicit scene with the affair and the knife as she shows her protagonist stepping into the bath with her violin. She is naked, with bath salts and heated water prepared to receive her like a lover. She holds the violin to her uterus as she reopens the cuts inflicted by the man in the beige suit, “seeing how the little wound, the invisible scar opened just like a mouth, letting a drop fall, followed by another; her fingers relaxed, and gave way to it…what I felt, what I was able to distinguish in the feeling, was some exterior force telling me to go…” (Dvoryanova 104). This symbolic death of Virginia shows the struggle between the abused and the dominant. She experienced the violence of the affair and was given the opportunity to continue living with her own sexuality and her choices. After finding the anima, or the purpose behind the violin and herself, Virginia was consumed instead of empowered. She perished in her chaos, and many women in this age reflected similar fates. These Eastern European women refused to find their sexual power and reverted to the traditions that kept them in lesser roles their whole lives. This can be seen in Fieldwork, where the lead character continuously chooses to be in a relationship with an abusive, brutish male. The identity that is most important to her is not being dominant or submissive, but being with someone who is her equal in nationality. “She was dealing with a male winner. A Ukrainian man— and a winner: a bloody miracle, can you believe it? In her wildest dreams she would not have imagined such a thing…” (Zabuzhko 66). While nationalism is not a central component of this essay, it warrants attention when examining why many women remained in their previous sexual roles. This character had never been with a Ukrainian before, and once she experienced what it was like to make love to someone of the same language and homeland, it was crucial to maintain. Even though he treated her like a thing to be beaten and stepped over, she was willing to accept it for the tradeoff of a similar tongue. Sex served as another common ground, and with him, it was enhanced. “An abrupt switch to a different language: lips, tongue, hands— and you, leaning back with a moan…—a language that drastically shortened your path toward one another, you recognized him: he’s one of yours, yours— in everything, a beast of the same species!” (Zabuzhko 32). Sex as a source of national identity is not uncommon, but Zabuzhko showed it perfectly through her portrayal of her male character. This emergence of sexual nationalism has rarely been observed before, and post-Soviet countries are ideal studies


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for its impact (Borenstein 1). Some women chose to remain where they were instead of moving forward, and this can be seen in other ways, as well. Escape and Invisibility: Sex as Life Many women felt threatened and afraid of their own sexuality following the Soviet rule and their new circumstances. They feared what sexual liberation would mean for them, and many of them struggle with these implications to this day (Nfa 14). Dvoryanova described Virginia’s apprehension leading up to her affair. “When she heard his violin…she briefly felt the urge to resist…not to resist him…but to resist her own ecstasy, which she worried might interfere with her ability to follow the stream of eights, spilling into sixteenths, in absolute synchrony…” (Dvoryanova 90). This erroneous guilt and nervousness regarding her happiness, and by extension her orgasm, can be seen through many perspectives of women in these post-colonial societies. Being taught for one’s entire life to serve as the source of male pleasure contradicts finding one’s own. Using sex as the tool to achieve female pleasure was practically blasphemous in Soviet society, as seen in the literature following its collapse. Sex became an escapist mechanism for manifesting these internal conflicts between men, women, and the internal woman. It was a way to both face their problems and ignore them through a physical outlet. These women were able to be seen by someone, even if they and their regional plight were unnoticed by the rest of the world. “That would have been the moment to start laughing hysterically, at the very least because this fall, as you forcibly dragged your miserable, oppressed body down the streets of an alien city, you at first became familiar with the notion of invisibility…” (Zabuzhko 41). Though her lover abused her, Zabuzkho’s protagonist understood that sex was a way to be acknowledged and hold some semblance of power over her life and herself. She desperately clung to it, even to her own detriment. “The wretched body is still alive, it’s demanding its rights, it’s dying from basic sex deprivation, perhaps it could even recover, start hopping around like a bunny rabbit if it could get sweetly laid…” (Zabuzhko 35). In Drakulic’s novel, Tereza feels the absence of José in a similar way. “I felt our physical separation in the form of pure pain. Nothing had prepared me for it. His departure was not the problem— that was something I thought I could bear, at least briefly. The worst thing was I was that I kept feeling that I wasn’t here, in this apartment, in this bed; that I had left with him” (Drakulic 95). She had become so attached to the sensations José provided that without the life away from reality he provided with their love affair, she was forced to face the doomed destiny they shared. Later in the novel, Tereza decides that the only way to avoid this painful separation would be permanent attachment through José literally becoming a part of her. “I never stopped loving him. There was not one moment when I was not aware of my love for him. But that love had moved to another realm… José was increasingly turning into an object” (Drakulic 164). Her love for him and her desire to taste his flesh in every sense of the term led her to a demented version of reality where such a thing could be possible. Forgoing all logic and sense, she gave herself over to the illusion sex with José provided her with. Escaping the real world and seeking acknowledgment is the key to understanding Eastern European women and sex. For all of their lives, these women have been ignored by the West and their own societies alike. Their struggles go untold, their stories unheard, and their voices muted. This version of reality is dull and lifeless, and with the revitalization of sexual culture in former Soviet states, a new opportunity presented itself. It is the chance to feel everything they had been numb to before, a life they had not know existed. For Western women, sex had become a way to express oneself and assert equality within relationships. For Eastern women, they desperately grasped at the chance to realize their identities through such a medium. As Zabuzhko labels it, “sex is only a sign of deeper disagreements” (95). It is indicative of larger societal flaws and faulty cultural norms. Beyond that, sex is the antidote to a curse that has plagued this group of women since the fall of the Soviet Union. “It didn’t matter, who the


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hell cares, as long as we can break out, tear ourselves away from the beaten track— from that eternal Ukrainian curse of nonexistence” (Zabuzhko 34). The “curse of nonexistence” continues to threaten women from Ukraine, Bulgaria, Croatia, and many more countries who suffered under Soviet rule and following that era. It is the threat of extinction, of total annihilation, and the loss of the world’s memory of what they went through. Sex allows women the chance to gain that liberty they arguably never possessed in the first place. “I don’t need to conquer you, I need to love you— love, can you understand that?!” (Zabuzhko 43). These women have an urge, a need, to be recognized, understood, and loved. Exploring and developing their sexual identities may further allow them this freedom. Conclusion In the post-Soviet era novels written by Drakulic, Zabuzhko, and Dvoryanova, women interact with their sexuality in various ways. As a contradiction to a typically male-dominated field, both in reality and in literature, these authors challenge preconceived notions about women and sex. Their characters reflect many differing opinions on the subject. Dvoryanova’s Virginia succumbs to the pressure of her changing identity and allows herself to be killed by it. When she commits suicide, she releases her sexual apprehensions and admits her weakness to withstand her own pleasure. Zabuzkho’s character seeks love and passion at the same time, but with a man who manipulates and abuses her. Although they share a nationality, her sexuality becomes a continuation of male domination and brutal ignorance of her sexual desires. Drakulic’s Tereza represents the pendulum of sexuality, reaching one extreme following another. She takes back her power in a dramatic way by murdering and consuming her lover, leaving herself tormented and tortured by whether she succeeded. This uncertainty is present in all of these women, and by extension, their authors and the population they represent. Eastern European women have been pushed and pulled by everyone around them: their government, their lovers and husbands, and themselves. They struggle to understand what their place in sexual relationships should be and whether they deserve full equality in the bedroom if they have never experienced it anywhere else. Too little or too much is asked of them, which often results in feelings of the latter. Through more time apart from Soviet influence and changing technology, perhaps these women will experience a true sexual awakening that affords them the pleasure and joy in sex they are entitled to.


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Works Cited Ashwin, Sarah, ed. Gender, state, and society in Soviet and post-Soviet Russia. Psychology Press, 2000. Bocharova, Oksana A. “Sexual freedom: Words and deeds.” Russian Social Science Review 38.2 (1997): 47-63. Borenstein, Eliot. “About that: Deploying and deploring sex in postsoviet Russia.” Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature 24.1 (2000): 4. Ciccocioppo, Melinda. “Hidden power made visible: Unveiling the subtle influence of male power in intimate relationships.” (2009): 586-588. Drakulic, Slavenka. The taste of a man. Hachette UK, 2013. Dvoryanova, Emiliya. Concerto for sentence. Obsidian Publishers, Sofia, 2008. McClintock, Anne. Imperial leather: Race, gender, and sexuality in the colonial contest. Routledge, 2013. Nfa, Farideh Heyat. Azeri women in transition: Women in Soviet and post-Soviet Azerbaijan. Routledge, 2014. Rigi, Jakob. “The Conditions of Post-Soviet Dispossessed Youth and Work in Almaty, Kazakhstan.” Critique of Anthropology, vol. 23, no. 1, Mar. 2003, pp. 35–49, doi: 10.1177/0308275X03023001811. Zabuzhko, Oksana. “Fieldwork in Ukrainian Sex.” Trans. Halyna Hryn. Las Vegas: AmazonCrossing, 2011.

About the Author Danielle Forand is a graduating senior studying Political Science and American Studies. With minors in U.S. National Security Studies and Leadership Studies, Forand is looking forward to continuing her educational journey following time gaining experience in the workforce. In her years at Christopher Newport University, Forand has been fortunate enough to participate in Greek life, on-campus employment, study abroad, and undergraduate research resulting in a publication in an academic journal. The Honors Program and President’s Leadership Program have encouraged her to broaden her horizons, and her internships in Newport News and Capitol Hill have given her direction toward public service. She is excited for the future and incredibly thankful for the connections she has made with fellow Captains, faculty, and staff in her time at CNU.


“Reentry for Parents: The Viewpoint of Practitioners” Ashley Irving Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Steven Keener, Department of Sociology, Social Work, and Anthropology

Abstract Reentry post-incarceration is an extremely difficult process in a disjointed criminal justice system fraught with structural challenges that anyone struggles to overcome. Parents specifically experience unique challenges within this flawed system. This study explores these unique experiences of parents through semi-structured interviews with reentry practitioners (N=14) throughout Virginia. Participants discussed the challenges and barriers parents face as well as the resources available to them a) during the period of incarceration, b) the transition from incarceration to reentry, and c) during reentry. The results also shed light on the unique psychological and emotional challenges parents face in relation to being separated from their children. The implications of the study’s results on policy and practice are explored, as well as the contributions made to existing literature. The policy and practice implications are far-reaching but specific focus is placed upon how improvements can be made in the coordination between corrections and reentry, consistency in parenting resources, and policy interventions across the criminal justice and education systems.


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Introduction The United States has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world. The ‘get tough on crime’ era beginning in the 1970s produced federal and state legislation that fueled the mass incarceration epidemic that has gripped the country for decades. In Virginia there are approximately 70,000 state residents incarcerated, with approximately 1 in 330,000 Virginia residents under some form of criminal justice supervision (Prison Policy Initiative, 2019). Across the country, approximately 1 out of every 28 children (Underwood & Krinsky, 2019) has experienced parental incarceration. In Virginia, approximately 1 out of every 14 children will experience parental incarceration by the age of 18 (Wallace, 2018). These incarceration rates demonstrate the vast impact that incarceration has on communities and families. There is substantial literature surrounding the experience of parental incarceration, but less attention paid to the unique experiences of families, and more specifically parents, during the reentry process post-incarceration and the challenges associated with rejoining the family unit. The reentry period is often a time in which one experiences anomie, a sense of normlessness (Tibbetts & Hemmens, 2019), as they exit the extremely structured and regimented routines of incarceration to society in which they experience newfound agency. This time is also associated with overwhelming challenges and stress associated with the stigma surrounding incarceration as well as financial, housing, and employment insecurity. These challenges affect not only the returning citizen, but their close personal groups, such as their friends and family. The goal of this project is to explore the experiences of Virginian families throughout the reentry process. By learning about the challenges faced by parents, local reentry agencies, educational institutions, and others can create and/or adapt resources to better address this difficult process. Literature Review Reentry is a challenging process for an individual that has spent time in a correctional facility (Simmons Staff, 2016). These individuals leave the environment that they have become familiar with as well as the norms, values, and structure that accompany it. Upon release, the returning citizens must attempt to readjust to the norms and chaos that defines American culture while simultaneously managing the stigma and stereotypes attached to their status as ex-offenders. These challenges exacerbate attempts to return to one’s family as they impact the individuals’ ability to reconnect with their partner, children, or extended family and work to rebuild and repair these relationships (Smith & Young, 2017). Existing literature on the experiences of parents during reentry has addressed: the impact that involvement in the criminal justice system has on familial relationships, the role of external factors and challenges in attempts to rejoin the family, and the influence of familial support on recidivism rates. Criminal Justice Involvement and Familial Relationships Part of the literature on the reentry process for parents focuses on the impact of parenting resources and communication on familial relationships. The parent-child bond is largely affected throughout the process as the “lines of authority between parents and children” (Smith & Young, 2017, p. 477) blur. Upon the return from incarceration it has been found that some children, “no longer view[ed] [their] father[s] as an authority figure” (Smith & Young, 2017, p. 482). Arditti and Few’s (2006) study found that incarcerated mothers described strain and stress placed upon their children and familial relationships and felt that the parent-child relationship is beyond repair at the onset of the reentry process (2006). The ability for the relationship to be repaired appears to change with the age of the child. McKay et al. (2018) found there is more warmth and higher-quality relationships after release with younger children, compared to fathers of older children. The absence of major developmental stages led to difficulty for the returning parent to adjust their parenting techniques and older children were more likely to hold grudges against the parent for being gone than younger children are (McKay et al., 2018).


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The existing literature clearly indicates that an array of factors within the household complicate the reentry process for parents. These challenges are also impacted by the housing situation of the returning parent. The co-residence of parents and children both before and after incarceration impacts the experiences of these families during reentry. Studies indicate that men are less likely than women to coreside with their children following incarceration (Comfort et al., 2018), and “both before and after imprisonment, mothers… are much more likely than fathers…to have been living and to expect to live with their children” (Foster & Hagan, 2009, p. 188) following release. Studies have also found that fathers have a strong desire for future relationships with their children (Welch et al., 2019). Co-residence with children following incarceration is often impacted by the parents’ relationship with the co-parent. The relationship between the returning parent and co-parent also impacts the success of returning to their family and children. Qualitative data indicates that, “men’s partners/coparents played both supporting and constraining roles in fathers’ efforts to re-establish a parenting role during the reentry period” (McKay et al., 2018, p. 172). There were multiple cited reasons of mothers placing constraints on the fathers’ interactions with the children. Mothers often felt the need to make fathers prove themselves as capable and responsible (McKay et al., 2018). The role of the co-parent in the successful repairing of the parent-child relationship is often cited as beginning during incarceration. Prior studies have also focused upon the availability of parenting resources during incarceration. Parenting classes or sessions are not discussed by many participants in existing studies, but when the resources were available, they were “liked and…useful when dealing with separation from their children” (Aiello, 2016, p. 450). These services help the parents to work on their parenting techniques and maintain a sense of confidence in their abilities and in their role as a parent (Tremblay & Sutherland, 2017, p. 3259). They acknowledge that they are not in the ideal parenting situation, but they can remain connected with their children through the practice they are receiving in the sessions. Mothers are often encouraged to ‘mother in your head’ and draw on past mothering experiences to maintain an optimistic outlook on the situation and the maintenance of the relationships with their children (Aiello, 2016). These programs play a large role in the confidence of parents’ ability to rejoin their family and repair relationships with their children. External Factors and Challenges to Rejoining the Family Existing literature on parental reentry describes a multitude of external factors that returning citizens must overcome. The most frequently cited external factor impacting attempts to repair relationships with family is communication. Returning parents report challenges to communicating with their children due to restraints created by the criminal justice system. In their study of fathers on parole, Crandell-Williams and McEvoy (2016) found “it was commonly felt that the prison system unnecessarily made child visitation, phone calls, and other forms of communication more difficult and costly” (p. 270). Individuals are often sent to prisons farther away from their families than is feasible for frequent visits. In their study of family members of recently released men, Naser and Visher (2006) found that 75% of participants reported prison being too far away to visit. These difficulties are more concerning as it has been found that “important predictors of father-child relationships upon reentry are the frequency and quality of contact while the father is incarcerated” (Crandell-Williams & McEvoy, 2016, p. 264). It is evident that existing policies and practices have a direct negative implication on parents’ ability to successfully repair relationships with their children. Prior life experiences of returning parents impact parenting practices utilized during reentry. A study of previously incarcerated black fathers found “experiences from before they had children influenced their present experiences as fathers” (Welch et al., 2019, p. 507).


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The dichotomy between motivation to be better fathers and dissuasion from parenting from street life and childhood experiences manifested itself in the relationships that these parents had with their children. Fathers that had personal experience with absent fathers were more likely to be invested in their relationships with their own children (Welch et al., 2019). Contrastingly, fathers that spent their lives on the streets were more likely to be removed from their children both physically and emotionally due to their ‘street life’ behavior and were more likely to not want their children to follow in their footsteps (Welch et al., 2019). This demonstrates differences in parenting resulting from experiences that citizens had prior to their incarceration. The reentry process is often characterized by financial hardship. This hardship creates another hurdle for parents attempting to return to their children. It has been found that a parent’s status has been reduced due to their unstable economic standing, thus producing a shift in the responsibilities within the home (Smith & Young, 2017). Despite the desire held by many returning parents to establish and maintain strong relationships with their children, various policies interfere with their ability to do that. Child support is often required to be paid through incarceration and following, despite the significant decline in financial status of incarcerated individuals, resulting in debt. It has also been found that, “The ability to pay off these debts is difficult because parolees tend to have few marketable skills, a significant gap in work history and the stigma of being an ex-convict” (Bahr et al., 2005, p. 9). The additional financial burden placed upon parents further complicates their ability to repair relationships with their children. Public policy can create additional burdens for the returning parent. This is especially true for the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA), which has detrimental effects on the ability of parents to communicate with their children. ASFA requires agencies to attempt to reunify parents with their children, but their priority is on adoption, often resulting in parents losing custody of their children (Mapson, 2013). Mapson found that “several barriers exist for incarcerated parents with a child in foster care when organizing visitation, mainly due to lack of coordination between the two systems” (2013, p. 174). Lack of visitation hindered returning parents’ ability to work to rebuild their role as a parental figure and reconnect with their child. In tandem with public policy, parole and probation requirements can work against returning parents’ efforts to re-establish positive relationships with family members. For example, Crandell-Williams and McEvoy (2016) found attempts to “jugg[le] contacts with several systems such as the parole office, employment agencies, mental health or substance abuse services, friend of the court, and in some cases social service agencies” (Crandell-Williams & McEvoy, 2016, p. 270) placed fathers released on parole in impossible situations in which they must decide whether to prioritize their children or their parole. If found non-compliant with parole conditions, parolees risk being arrested and sent back to prison. Despite the risk of re-incarceration, fathers consistently prioritized reconnecting with their children (CrandellWilliams, 2016). These requirements can create overwhelming scenarios that make the process of rejoining families even more complicated. Familial Support and Recidivism Rates The final theme that has emerged from existing literature is the influence of familial support on recidivism rates. Familial support is cited as one of the most important indicators of a successful reentry as “research indicates that incarcerated men who maintain contact with supportive family members have greater success after release” (Kelly-Trombley, Bartels & Weiling, 2014, p. 97). Maintaining family contact provides a level of support that is crucial as the returning citizen attempts to acclimate to changes that have occurred in their environment throughout the transition from incarceration to reentry. Shapiro and Schwartz (2001) found families provide a crucial anchor and those with family support reported “a higher level of confidence and were more successful and optimistic for their futures” (p. 54). Confidence resulted from support and


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assistance from family members to ease the typically jarring transition. Family members involved in reentry can help in the areas of employment, behavior management, and navigating the process of repairing damaged or lost relationships. Shapiro and Schwartz’s (2001) participants reported “family members help locate work and encourage abstinence from drugs and compliance with treatment” (p. 54). Reentry programs that focus on incorporating the family have also found that familial support can help returning citizens not only through material support in the form of housing or employment, but also through emotional support (Bobbitt & Nelson, 2004). Reentry is an extremely challenging time. However, the support of family can provide a sense of comfort and encouragement, reducing recidivism odds due to the social bonds with supportive family members. Gaps in Literature Despite the emergence of these themes, there are multiple gaps in the literature. The largest gap surrounds the experiences of reentry in terms of the immediate, primary family unit. The existing literature is predominantly focused on the implications felt by, and the role of, secondary family members such as the returning citizens’ parents or siblings. Little work has been done in which the returning individuals’ significant other or their children are the primary unit of analysis. This gap is also a result of the lack of focus in the existing literature on parenting practices specifically. Methodology The goal of this study is to build upon the literature and fill existing gaps by exploring the experiences of returning parents and their families. A qualitative research design was utilized because it provided an in-depth, lived-experience perspective that would not be captured to its fullest extent by quantitative measurements (Smith & Young, 2017). Reentry practitioners across Virginia were recruited to participate in semi-structured interviews. These practitioners provide a unique perspective cultivated through work with an array of individuals that have experienced, and are currently experiencing, the transition from incarceration to reentry. Practitioners can also provide expertise on policies and practices that are most effective in creating successful reentry experiences. Reentry professionals provide various services to returning citizens including, but not limited to employment and housing leads, referrals to mental health and/or substance abuse counseling, and a variety of social service resources. Participants were recruited through a snowball sampling technique, which allowed participants to help connect the researchers with other potential participants (Umamaheswar, 2018). A non-probability sampling technique was used because there is no universal database of eligible participants from which random selection could occur. To begin the recruitment process and build trust among practitioners, volunteer work was completed with a local reentry non-profit organization. Becoming acquainted with reentry practitioners prior to recruitment helped build rapport with the individuals in the field. Participants were contacted via email following internet searches of local reentry programs and/or obtaining references from local reentry practitioners. The trust built with participants throughout the data collection process assisted with further recruitment. Ultimately, 14 practitioners participated in the interviews. The study was approved by the university’s Institutional Review Board. Informed consent was obtained by all participants prior to completing recorded, semistructured interviews both over the phone and in-person. The interview guide included questions about: the education and employment history of each participant, as well as their current roles and responsibilities, the unique experiences and challenges they have observed parents and their families face during incarceration, what transition to reentry looks like, the barriers faced in reentry and the source of these barriers, and what an ideal reentry system would look like. The interview structure created the opportunity to seek clarification, reflect on the material,


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and ask probing questions (Crandell-Williams & McEvoy, 2016). This approach also assured the researchers did not limit the depth of information gathered per topic by over-saturating the interviews with a large breadth of topics (Arditti & Few, 2006). The semi-structured interviews covered all relevant topics but did not limit the amount of information provided in each response. All interviews were transcribed and then analyzed using a conventional content analysis approach. During analysis, a codebook was developed with inductive and deductive codes. This analytic technique helped build upon themes identified in the literature but allowed for the identification of new themes that emerged in the interviews. ATLAS.ti Qualitative Data Analysis and Research Software, version 8 was utilized for coding and analysis of the interview data. Results

The 14 participants discussed their various experiences with parents that went through the transition from incarceration to reentry. After transcribing and analyzing the interviews, the major results that emerged across the interviews can be sorted into the categories of the challenges faced during incarceration, the transition of incarceration to reentry, and the challenges and barriers faced in reentry. Challenges Faced During Incarceration When asked about challenges during incarceration, participants frequently cited visitation and the barriers associated with it. For example, the distance from where an individual is incarcerated, and their family can make visitation extremely difficult and nearly impossible for some families. This barrier is highly prevalent for incarcerated individuals in Virginia as most prisons are in rural, Southwest Virginia, but most incarcerated individuals come from the urbanized regions of Northern Virginia, Richmond, and Hampton Roads. Participants consistently cited that many incarcerated individuals come from poverty and therefore cannot access or afford the cost of transportation. A continuum of contact to contactless visitation was also described at facilities across Virginia, but contactless alternatives are not cost-free and oftentimes, do not remove the element of travel to the facility. For example, participants have described a video visitation format in which families must travel to the facility to talk with their loved one on a video call, similar to FaceTime. The video visitation technology has a cost associated with it, which is often billed to the family. Although these barriers to visitation are present for anyone incarcerated, participants described how these barriers are especially detrimental to incarcerated parents. For example, one participant stated: “For the actual individual that is incarcerated, those visits are, are extremely important... they go a long way toward helping to keep their self-esteem up, to helping a sense of normalcy.” Despite its importance, participants also described the psychological toll that it takes on both the parent and the child. For instance, one participant described parents being heavily invested in visitation and looking forward to the short visit for days leading up to it but struggling days after the conclusion of the visit because of the emotionality of the experience. Many participants also discussed the psychological toll that visitation has on the child. In fact, in efforts to mitigate this psychological and emotional trauma, numerous participants have witnessed parents asking for no visitation. The developmental stage and age of the child can mediate the impact visitation has on the child, but various participants described the trauma associated with seeing their parent in the jail or prison setting. Younger children in particular, have difficulty understanding why their parent cannot go home with them or why they cannot touch their parent. One participant stated: “It’s also...traumatizing for the kids and their families to come and see their loved one... behind something and knowing that isn’t where they need be and that they should


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be home with you for the most part”. Nearly all participants discussed the importance of family involvement for anyone incarcerated. For example, one participant stated, “Family support is everything if they are lucky enough to have it.” Although family involvement is invaluable for incarcerated individuals, it exists on a continuum ranging from heavy involvement to little to none. Many participants described the relationship the individual has with their family prior to incarceration as being a driver of family involvement. Participants cited prior trauma, domestic violence, and substance abuse as reasons for families to choose not to be involved with the individual as trust has been broken and bridges burned between the loved one and the family. Various participants also discussed the role that length of incarceration plays in familial involvement. The longer an individual has been incarcerated, as well as potential histories of past incarceration, participants described witnessed a decrease in level of involvement. A participant stated: “A lot of times if...there’s been this pattern of in and out of incarceration, sometimes those, it’s more difficult to reestablish that support from the family”. Another major finding regarding the impact of incarceration on parents is the variety of potential custodial arrangements for the child. The new child caretaker has a major impact on the degree to which the child is involved with the parent and the relationship between them. In a situation in which the co-parent has custody of the child during the period of incarceration, there may be gendered differences in the involvement of children in visitation. Some participants have stated that when the father is incarcerated, and the mother is the primary caretaker of the children, the caretaker often makes a conscious effort to visit and maintain contact between the children and their father. If the mother is incarcerated, and the father has custody, it is more likely for there to be less family involvement as the father is less likely to take the steps necessary to maintain contact and engage in visitation. Many participants also cited extended family becoming caretakers as potentially creating additional challenges to the level of family involvement. The level of involvement is often dependent on the relationship with the parent prior to incarceration. Regardless of the additional challenges, this custodial arrangement is preferred to the child entering the foster care system as regaining custody is extremely challenging for incarcerated parents. Participants discussed the array of hurdles parents face in their attempts to regain custody of their children and battle the potential of long-term loss of their parental rights. Losing a child to the foster care system is another distinct way that incarceration presents unique challenges to parents. The final major finding regarding incarceration was the prevalence, or lack of, parenting programs within correctional facilities. Some participants described facilities with a breadth of parenting resources such as fatherhood and motherhood classes. The typical goal of these programs is to provide parents strategies to use in coping with the separation from their families, maintaining communication with their children, and preparing for a successful transition to reentry. For example, one program described allowed participating fathers to visit with their children free of the typical visitation restrictions, such as no contact, in an effort to give these fathers an opportunity to apply and practice the strategies they learned throughout the program. While some participants described restorative in-facility parenting programs, other participants discussed a distinct lack of resources specifically tailored to parents. Instead, they described facilities with generalized resources and programs for anyone incarcerated. These contrasting descriptions demonstrate a clear variation in resources and services available across localities in Virginia. This wide variety may be a result of variation in funding across localities, decisions made by the facility’s administration, or other community-level factors. Transition to Reentry Participants described the unique difficulties and challenges within the transition from incarceration to reentry and they varied across the localities that these practitioners serve.


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Participants frequently cited coordination between correctional facilities and reentry as a major factor in the success of the returning parent. Some participants described facilities with adequate coordination between facilities and reentry agencies in the form of: in-jail educational classes and job training, the creation of housing plans, and reentry case managers and local community service board representatives going into the jail to work with individuals on pre-release reentry planning. Others described a distinct lack of coordination between facilities and reentry resources. They expressed a need for earlier reentry planning to address these fragmented resources. Addressing this gap is important as coordination between facilities and reentry may impact the likelihood of a reentering parent to utilize reentry resources post-release. One participant described that they meet with incarcerated individuals at least 120 days pre-release to build a rapport and encourage use of reentry resources. The presence of pre-release reentry planning and coordination appears to be another factor that varies widely across localities. When asked to describe what reentry looks like in an ideal world, nearly all participants discussed a single-stop location that has consolidated all essential reentry resources into an easily accessible entity. Immediately following release, returning citizens would be able to visit this location and receive all assistance that they require including, but not limited to, transitional housing, employment leads, establishing government benefits, acquiring photo identification, and mental health or substance abuse counseling. Some participants stated their locality has made efforts to move to this format for reentry resources, but still expressed a desire for further action, while other participants described a locality with disjointed resources. Individuals returning to localities without a unified reentry network have received little assistance in planning and guidance for the transition to reentry. Despite the variance across localities, participants consistently advocated for reentry planning beginning well before the release date and services that address the continuum of difficulties faced throughout the process. Barriers and Challenges Faced During Reentry A reentry barrier consistently described across participants is the stigmatization associated with incarceration. Participants frequently described the impact that the stigma around involvement in the criminal justice system has on returning citizens and how it further complicates the reentry process. For example, one participant stated: “I think some of the biggest barriers are just perspective and the bias that we have collectively of people who have gotten into trouble, have made some poor decisions.” Other participants echoed this statement by describing localities that have expressed a desire to assist returning citizens on matters such as housing, but they do not want them in their own neighborhoods. To exemplify this issue, one participant stated: “Everybody wants to help, but not in my backyard”. Another participant described when grant funding was used for transitional housing units. The housing units were placed in neighborhoods; but community members did not know they were used for individuals transitioning from incarceration. The funding was removed when citizens discovered that formerly incarcerated individuals resided in the units. Stigmatization impacts various elements of the reentry process as it creates barriers for individuals to reestablish their role in society. Finding employment and housing can be challenging for anyone, especially for parents, and the stigmatization associated with incarceration perpetuates these challenges. Nearly all participants advocated for a change in language associated with incarceration and a less judgmental viewpoint to combat commonly held stigmas. Across all participants’ responses, barriers to employment and housing were the most frequently cited reentry challenges. Finding employers willing to hire previously incarcerated individuals is already challenging. Participants also described barriers to employment for returning citizens relating to technology as the application process for jobs is now predominantly online. Many reentering individuals lack both the access to technology and the know-how to apply for


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the limited jobs that are accessible to them due to technological changes that have occurred. They often lack marketable technological skills that would make them a strong candidate within the applicant pool. To address these challenges to gaining employment, some participants described local reentry programs offering resources to returning citizens such as job fairs, supplemental wage programs, and incentives for employers to hire returning citizens. While employment is a frequently cited challenge during reentry, almost all participants stressed the importance of securing housing at the beginning of the reentry process. Obtaining housing soon after release is extremely important for returning citizens, as individuals that are homeless are almost guaranteed to be arrested again. For example, a participant stated: “So they’re discharged to homelessness at a ridiculous hour with no food and nowhere to go, the likelihood of them reoffending is, I mean, inevitable”. Transitional housing opportunities are beneficial, but they vary greatly across localities. When able to obtain transitional housing, individuals continue to face challenges as these housing units may not be located in areas that encourage rehabilitation, or they may not allow children to visit the location, creating an additional barrier for reentering parents. There are also barriers to long-term housing as it is often difficult for individuals to move from transitional housing to long-term housing. The barriers to this transition often go hand-in-hand with barriers to employment and establishing financial stability. Many participants expressed difficulty not in finding employment leads for returning citizens, but in finding employment opportunities with a living wage. Numerous participants described the increasing cost associated with residing in their locality and the increased cost of living creates additional burdens for individuals attempting to return to these communities when they do not make a living wage. These barriers cannot be decoupled and further complicate a reentering parents’ attempts to reestablish a relationship with their children. Participants frequently stated that an individual cannot begin to repair their familial relationships before they have taken care of the other pieces of their life first. Establishing longterm housing and having employment that provides a livable wage are extremely important for parents during the reentry process, especially if they are attempting to regain custody of their children. For example, a participant stated: “Housing in America is a challenge and if you can’t find affordable, decent housing, then you really can’t persuade the courts to sometimes to, to allow you to have custody back of your, of your child.” Alongside the need to establish stable housing and employment, some practitioners also advise parents to address and work on their mental health or substance abuse issues, if present, before parents can begin to repair relationships with their children. Mental health and substance abuse have been proven across various studies to be coupled with incarceration both as causes and as subsequent consequences of the experience. Therefore, efforts to address these illnesses are a key element of reentry for anyone, but more importantly for parents who wish to reestablish healthy, stable relationships with their children. Despite the role that challenges such as substance abuse, housing and employment play in reentry, resources targeted at these barriers do not address the unique challenges faced by parents. As with generalized reentry resources, the presence of parenting reentry resources varies widely across localities. Some participants described localities with various resources specifically tailored for parents such as family counseling, support groups, and child support assistance, discussing the importance of these resources for parents, especially as they attempt to regain custody of their children or return to their household. For example, one participant described an instance in which their organization covered the costs associated with a father traveling to visit his daughter as he worked to reestablish their relationship and regain custody. Others described localities with a distinct lack of reentry resources targeted at parents, despite the importance of these resources for this subgroup of the reentry population.


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Many participants attributed these barriers during the reentry process to the stigmatization associated with incarceration, a lack of funding for reentry, and the localized nature of reentry resources. This study explores the unique challenges faced by parents during the reentry process following incarceration and it has consistently been found that the incarceration experience and reentry cannot be decoupled. There are many factors during incarceration that carry through the transition and create barriers well into reentry affecting the ability of parents to reestablish their role both in society and within their family. Implications These findings both contribute to, and expand upon, existing literature on the impact of incarceration on families. The results demonstrate the unique hardships that incarceration, the transition to reentry, and the reentry process present to parents and their loved ones. The results continue to support findings from Smith and Young (2017) that the parent-child relationship is greatly impacted by the incarceration and reentry experience as incarcerated parents are absent for key developmental years of their children’s lives and they are no longer residing together, affecting the trust and respect the child has for the parents. The age of the child during incarceration greatly influences the reentry experience of the parent, supporting the findings of McKay et al. (2018). Participants also frequently cited the difficulties that parents face in returning to their role in the household during reentry as barriers to financial stability shift household roles and responsibilities during incarceration and reentry as found by Smith and Young (2017). The relationship with the child’s co-parent or caregiver also plays a large role in the incarceration and reentry processes as it impacts the extent to which the parent and child are allowed to interact and maintain a relationship, supporting the findings of McKay et al. (2018). The results also continue to support the findings of Comfort et al. (2018), Foster and Hagan (2009), Bobbitt and Nelson (2004), and Naser and Visher (2006) that various external challenges such as access to affordable housing, employment, and lack of transportation are major barriers during the reentry process. Opportunities for family involvement, such as visitation, are impacted by the inability of the family to access transportation to correctional facilities, found by Naser and Visher (2006), as well as for children to visit transitional housing during reentry, all of which impair the ability of the parents to reestablish their lives in society and their relationships with their children. Family involvement is extremely important for anyone incarcerated, but especially for parents as they face unique challenges associated with being separated from their family. Existing findings from Foster and Hagan (2009) have demonstrated that family involvement is key to successful reentry and in reducing recidivism. These findings also addressed existing gaps in the literature. In addressing the gaps, it was learned that parents experience unique challenges associated with the psychological and emotional toll of incarceration on the individual, the children, and the family. The visitation experience and the separation of the parent from the family is extremely traumatic for the children as well as the incarcerated parent, yet is extremely important for incarcerated parents, supporting findings from Crandell-Williams and McEvoy (2016). Also, the reentry resources that are available to returning citizens vary widely across Virginia localities. This also fuels discrepancies in the coordination between the local jail and reentry resources as well as between reentry services within the community, resulting in fragmented services in some localities. Although important for addressing the unique situations of parents, results also support findings from Aiello (2016) that there is wide variation in the parenting resources available during incarceration and reentry. This variation is largely dependent upon funding and the expertise and perspective of those working within correctional institutions and reentry agencies. These results in a lack of consistency in the resources available to this population and their families. Although the access and availability of parenting resources is largely dependent on the locality in


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which an individual is returning to, the barriers that parents face are consistent across localities. Affordable housing and a livable wage are crucial to the reentry process, as well as to a parents ability to rejoin their family. One cannot begin to rebuild a relationship with their children without securing stable housing and employment. Housing and employment are barriers to all returning citizens, but present additional challenges to parents. The policy and practice implications from this study are far-reaching but present some practical solutions for parent and family reentry resources. The results clearly indicate that reentry resources should be consistent across localities, appropriately funded, and nuanced enough to target specific populations that face unique challenges. Targeted resources of this nature should address the unique needs of parents and their families. It is important to note that these resources should also be nuanced enough to only repair family relationships when it is desired and healthy for everyone involved. Participants often cited that they must be cognizant of the reality that there could be a history of abuse in the home and restoring relationships could be dangerous. Literature and expertise exist to work within these constraints; however, there must be adequate funding so that these experts can take the time necessary to assure that reunification resources will create a safe home for everyone involved. These types of targeted and nuanced resources are realistic and practical. They have already become more prevalent for individuals with mental health and/or substance abuse needs. Thus, creating resources for parents and their families continues a trend that is already becoming more prevalent within the reentry realm. Future policies and practices within the realm of reentry must recognize the unique experiences, challenges, and barriers faced by parents and their families. Given the localized nature of the criminal justice system, it is likely that well-funded localities with practitioners abreast in the literature can and will implement resources that are able to address these unique challenges. Other localities with less funding and overworked practitioners are less able to implement nuanced resources, replicating a system where successful reentry is partly predicated upon the community in which an individual is reentering. The implications of these results stretch beyond the criminal justice system. Differentiation is necessary for reentering parents not only from policymakers and practitioners in the criminal justice field, but also practitioners in the areas of society that their families reside in such as educators and administrators. Education professionals should take targeted approaches when working with families that experience incarceration as the children and parents attempt to manage the associated stress, trauma, and challenges. Education practitioners and policymakers should also be cognizant of the barriers, such as lack of photo identification, that may prevent involvement in their child’s school. Limitations and Future Research Participant recruitment was a challenging element of this study. Although the sample is representative of the major geographical regions of Virginia, increased participation will help produce reliable results and ensure that a breadth of experiences is represented in the data. Another methodological limitation relates to the format of the data collection process. Due to limitations on funding and ability to travel to all participants within the sample, almost all interviews were completed via phone, with others being completed in-person. In-person data collection provides an opportunity for more rapport building between the researcher and the participant and could yield higher quality data. Limitations also exist because practitioners offer second-hand experience and do not know of all the challenges faced by the parents they work with. Future research should work to incorporate reentering parents into the sample and seek funding to travel to collect all interview data in-person. Including reentering parents into the sample of future studies will provide in-depth and comprehensive data from a first-hand perspective. In-person interviews will also allow the researcher to develop deeper relationships with participants and a trustworthiness that will open doors for referrals to other participants.


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The experiences of parents during the reentry process are unique and are extremely important to the holistic understanding of the impact that incarceration has on families and communities in Virginia communities. While this study worked to address the gap in literature within the field of criminology on the reentry process for the subgroup of parents, there are still various avenues related to this phenomenon that require further exploration and analysis.

References Aiello, B. (2016). Making mothers: Parenting classes in a women’s jail. Contemporary Justice Review, 19(4), 445-461. Arditti, J.A. & Few, A.L. (2006). Mothers’ reentry into family life following incarceration. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 17(1), 103-123. Bahr, S.J., Armstrong, A.H., Gibbs, B.G., Harris, P.E. & Fisher, J.K. (2005). The reentry process: How parolees adjust to release from prison. Fathering, 3(3), 1-22. Bobbitt, M. & Nelson, M. (2004). The front line: Building programs that recognize families’ role in reentry. Retrieved from https://www.vera.org. Comfort, M., Krieger, K.E., Landwehr, J., McKay, T., Lindquist, C.H., Feinberg, R…. Bir, A. (2018). Partnership after prison: Couple relationships during reentry. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 57(2), 188-205. Crandell-Williams, A. & McEvoy, A. (2016). Fathers on parole: Narratives from the margin. Journal of Men’s Studies, 25(3), 262-277. Foster, H. & Hagan, J. (2019). The mass incarceration of parents in America: Issues of race/ ethnicity, collateral damage to children, and prisoner reentry. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 623, 179-194. Hiseh, H.F. & Shannon, S.E. (2005). Three approaches to qualitative content analysis. Qualitative Health Research, 15(9), pg. 1277-1288. Kelly-Trombley, H.M., Bartels, D., & Weiling, E. (2014). “She’s my baby”: How recently incarcerated fathers experience their relationship with their daughters. Fathering, 12(1), 94-114. Mapson, A. (2013). From prison to parenting. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 23(2), 171-177. McKay, T., Feinberg, R., Landwehr, J., Payne, J., Comfort, M., Lindquist, C.H….Bir, A. (2018). “Always having hope”: Father-child relationship after reentry from prison. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 57(2), 162-187. Naser, R.L. & Visher, C.A. (2006). Family members’ experiences with incarceration and reentry. Western Criminology Review, 7(2), 20-31. Shapiro, C. & Schwartz, M. (2001). Coming home: Building on family connections. Corrections Management Quarterly, 5(3), 52-61. Simmons Staff. (2016). The challenges of prisoner re-entry into society. Retrieved from https://socialwork.simmons.edu/blog/PrisonerReentry/. Smith, C.J. & Young, D.S. (2017). A retrospective look at the experience of parental incarceration and family reentry during adolescence. Social Work in Public Health, 32(8), 475-488. Tibbetts, S.G. & Hemmens, C. (2019). Criminological theory (3rd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE. Tremblay, M.D. & Sutherland, J.E. (2017). The effectiveness of parenting programs for incarcerated mothers: A systematic review. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26(12), 3247-3265.


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Umamaheswar, J. (2018). Studying homeless and incarcerated persons: A comparative account of doing field research with hard-to-reach populations. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 19(3), 261-282. Underwood, E. & Krinksy, M.A. (2019). Millions of children lose their parents to incarceration. That doesn’t have to happen. Retrieved from https://theappeal.org/millions-of-childrenlose-their-parents-to-incarceration-that-doesnt-have-to-happen/. Wallace, E.J. (2018). Doing time: When parents go to jail, kids suffer the consequences. Retrieved from http://www.coastalvirginiamag.com/November-December-2018/Doing-TimeWhen-Parents-Go-to-Jail-Kids-Suffer-the-Consequences/. Welch, N., Negash, S., Nino, A., Ayers, K. & Woolley, S. (2019). Through their lens: The parental experience of formerly incarcerated black fathers. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 58(6), 500-519.

About the Author Ashley Irving graduated from Christopher Newport University in 2020 with a BA in Sociology with a minor in Childhood Studies. During her time at CNU, Ashley was a member of the Marching Captains, Pep Band, and Kappa Kappa Psi, served as a peer mentor in the Sociology department for two years, and was heavily involved in undergraduate research acting as a Summer Scholar in 2019 and receiving a Research Lens Grant in 2020. She presented her research at the inaugural Network for Undergraduate Research in Virginia conference in 2020 and was accepted to present at the Southern Sociological Society annual conference in April 2020. She is currently a member of the 2021 cohort for Christopher Newport University’s Master of Arts in Teaching program. She plans on pursuing a career as an elementary school teacher following the completion of her Masters.


“Martin Heidegger and the Sacred Object” Hannah Jackson Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Joe Balay, Department of Philosophy and Religion Abstract This paper argues that a fascination with sacred objects becomes central to the evolution of Martin Heidegger’s philosophy. It asserts that Heidegger’s Catholic upbringing remained influential in his works not through theology but through a cultural lens which shaped his ontology. It draws upon Heidegger’s own writings on the subject and other evidence in his text to draw a connection between his philosophy and the Catholic imagination. This imaginative tradition serves as the basis for the definition of sanctity which is employed throughout the rest of the paper. The reading of Heidegger helps to reconcile the mysticism of his later works with the image of his philosophy that has been built around his earlier work. An understanding of the sacred object allows the two to be more clearly connected and exist as part of a singular narrative rather than as two disparate halves. This is shown through his eventual discussion of art and its gradual transition to all objects. Finally, this sanctified imagination calls into question the treatment of Zen Buddhism in relation to Heidegger. Understanding Heidegger’s works as devoid of all Catholic heritage leads to a misunderstanding of both Zen and Heidegger’s particular reason for engaging with it. Tibetan Buddhism is presented instead as a more natural counterpart to the discussion that promises to yield valuable discussion if properly considered.


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Martin Heidegger spent his life attempting to get the best of both worlds. He was raised Roman Catholic and spent a brief time in seminary before leaving to pursue a career in philosophy. This has led to many unfairly branding his early works as a strictly secular enterprise meant to replace the religious aspects of his thought with a more sensible model. Anyone who holds such an understanding would therefore be distressed by the mysticism which he eventually adopts in his later work and be largely at a loss for how to make it into a coherent narrative. The solution has, historically, been to refer to periods of Heidegger I and Heidegger II in order to keep his more poetic works from contaminating his early thought and vice versa.1 But the arc of his thought can be understood simply by realizing that Heidegger did not wish to reject all aspects of the Catholic Church. Like many self-proclaimed former Catholics, the beauty of the church and its traditions had no suitable analog in secular life. As a phenomenologist this left Heidegger in the difficult position of explaining the deep reverence that the sacrament inspires without the grace of God as an obvious answer. His ultimate question of how the world means something to us would have been left perpetually incomplete if it did not account for this intense, sanctified experience of meaning that permeates a Catholic upbringing. He grew up in a world where every thing would have been an opportunity for a revelation of grace and that is not something that can be easily overcome. And so, a fascination with sacred objects becomes central to the evolution of Heidegger’s works. A demonstration of why this understanding is so vital to any reading of Heidegger can be found in his engagement with Buddhism. Zen appears more as an opposite than a companion to his work and the Tibetan Gelugpa school is instead presented. Shifting the focus of this East-West dialogue can offer needed discussion on several topics that often get overlooked when it comes to Heidegger and Buddhism alike. Heidegger and the Catholic Imagination Much of the debate surrounding Heidegger’s relationship with religion takes his turn from the Catholic church to be the natural starting point of his secular philosophy. But this is a gross oversimplification that only serves to alienate his works from an engagement with faith that he himself suggested would be beneficial. In a 1919 letter to Father Englebert Krebs explaining why he has chosen to leave the church; Heidegger specifically expresses his dissatisfaction with “the system of Catholicism.”2 This system is taken as separate from the traditions and questions that come with participation in the Catholic church. Heidegger actually claims to maintain an “objective appreciative judgment of and deep respect for the life-world of Catholicism” which plays a role in the questions he seeks to explore as a philosopher.3 This turn is not, therefore, a negative one away from the church but rather a positive one towards philosophy. Such a difference is significant as it leaves room for him to continue to engage with any ideas, scholars, or questions that he still sees as valuable. And he takes full advantage of this freedom throughout his career. The first lecture series he delivered after writing this letter to Krebs was an “Introduction to the Phenomenology of Religion.” In this lecture, Heidegger fights against the trend of justifying philosophy in relation to science.4 Doing so, he argues, makes religion an object of the study of philosophy rather than a part of the life in which philosophy occurs.5 This William J. Richardson and Martin Heidegger, Heidegger, through Phenomenology to Thought, 3rd ed. (The Hague: M. Nijhoff, 1974) 2 Martin Heidegger, Supplements: From the Earliest Essays to Being and Time and beyond, ed. John Van Buren (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2002), 69, digital file. 3 Ibid., 70. 4 Martin Heidegger, The Phenomenology of Religious Life, trans. Matthias Fritsch and Jennifer Anna Gosetti-Ferencei (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2010), 4, digital file. 5 Ibid.,14. 1


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factical life experience is not something that philosophy tries to distance itself from and explain in objective terms but rather the path which leads to the act of questioning itself. Philosophy is not something that one does to the world but rather a part of being-in-a-world at all. When he condemns the “secularization” of philosophy he is referring to this act of taking it from the lived-world experience to some impossible objective standard.6 Heidegger is therefore embarking on a project to keep philosophy in the world not fleeing the mysticism of the church for the rigor of a scientific discipline. When it comes to sanctity, especially the sacred object, Heidegger retains a distinct sense of Catholicism and it is this experience of the world as sacred that he continuously attempts to ground in his new ontology. The sacred becomes that which brings Being near and reveals it in some way to us. As established in “Introduction to the Phenomenology of Religion,” Heidegger’s goal is not to deny his factical life experience but rather to follow it towards a new understanding of philosophy. He does not ask if life matters or if we are drawn to it as meaningful but rather asks how it is that these things occur. The Catholic answer to this question is the immanence of God whereas Heidegger’s becomes the immanence of Being. A sense of divine nearness, that life is a plenitude of things that matter, is a fundamentally Catholic mode of viewing the world. This facticity of the Catholic heritage can be more succinctly referred to as the Catholic imagination. In his work, “The Catholic Imagination,” Father Andrew Greeley argues that the traditions of the church create a certain way of being-in-the-world for practicing and former Catholics alike that cannot be consciously abandoned as easily as the beliefs that informed it.7 The result of this heritage is a lingering sense that “the objects, events, and persons of daily life are revelations of grace.”8 In situations such as Heidegger’s, where the belief in grace is abandoned, the experience of the sacrament remains while the explanation for it disappears. It is beneficial, then, to understand what this experience is. Sacramentality originates primarily from the Catholic belief that God is present in all creation and can therefore be reached through analogical reasoning. This gives a certain weight to everyday objects and practices beyond just their practical utility. In his essay “Sacraments,” Catholic writer Andre Dubus explains how the act of making a sandwich for his daughters becomes analogous to the consecration of the host once he becomes aware that if he had the ability to give his body as food endlessly to his children, he would do so.9 This is the revelatory power of bread, cheese, and meat. But at no point does the sandwich stop being a sandwich. It reveals itself to Dubus not as something other but as itself in a different mode of being. Heidegger’s challenge is to retain this flash of truth in which beings reveal their multitudes but to couch it in terms of Being rather than of God. The Possibility of the Sacred There are several objections which can be raised to suggesting that Heidegger’s works should be understood as a sort of yearning for the elevated meaning he would have found in the Catholic church. The first, and perhaps most obvious, is that it is impossible to truly know what Heidegger’s personal beliefs were. Even his writings directly on the subject can only reveal so much. But it is not necessary to claim that he retained some shred of belief in God or the Catholic church in order to claim he was enchanted by a Catholic imagination. Greeley himself explicitly states that any claim of enchantment is limited only to the work and cannot be used to justify an assumption of intent or belief on behalf of the author.10 It is also not a claim that Ibid., 8. Andrew M. Greeley, The Catholic Imagination (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000), 16. 8 Ibid., 1. 9 Andre Dubus, Meditations from a Movable Chair: Essays (Thorndike, Me.: Thorndike Press, 1999), 108. 10 Greeley, The Catholic, 18. 6 7


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there is one, singular, monolithic Catholic experience that is unique from all other faiths. In fact, as will be discussed in the final section of this paper, there are several important similarities between the Catholic imagination and non-Christian religions. It is possible that such an enchantment could even arise by pure chance with no direct link to the Catholic church at all, though participation in Catholicism allows the resulting enchanted imagination to be called Catholic rather than something else. But there is no speculation required to state that Heidegger did belong to the Catholic heritage in his lifetime or that one’s upbringing can have a profound, even if subconscious, effect on how they understand the world. There is nothing that therefore specifically prevents the argument from being made that Heidegger’s works display a progression towards recapturing the enchantment of this Catholic imagination through the sacred object. A more substantial objection comes in his treatment of objects in Being and Time. As his first major philosophical work, Being and Time sets out the terms and goal of Heidegger’s philosophy. When it comes to the issue of objects, he conceives of them as being always at-hand in some way. He defines the world which Dasein sets up as consisting of “the totality of entities which can be present-at-hand within the world.”11 This definition sounds circular because it is. An object is present-at-hand because it exists as part of the world and it exists as part of the world because it is present-at-hand. This is a reflection of the role of Dasein in creating the world not by literally forming the materiality of it but by giving it order and meaning. A being “is” because Dasein has a relationship with it and it therefore is that relationship. Equipment, for example, is “readiness-at-hand” not as a characteristic but as the essence of its being. An object “acquires its specific Thingly character” when we interact with it in order to use it.12 The essence of a thing is therefore understood to be its instrumentality. While it is true that this description does not fit the experience of the sacrament that has been argued for, this is not at all sufficient to refute the necessity of sanctity in Heidegger’s work. The most obvious response to this objection is that Being and Time is not a finished work. The version that bears the title today is barely a third of what Heidegger planned to cover in his introduction. It is entirely possible that he planned to return to the issue of objects and either expand upon or reformulate their place in the world. Second, the argument being put forth relates to the total evolution of Heidegger’s thought; the starting point has to be different than his ultimate conclusion in order for such an argument to exist. Furthermore, his almost immediate movement away from instrumentality in works following Being and Time lends support to both of these responses. Sanctity of Art and Object The introduction of the fourfold is one of the more baffling aspects of Heidegger’s philosophy to scholars attempting to understand the development of his ideas. It, along with his discussion of presencing, has been largely treated as a shift in his ontology that belongs firmly to the later part of his career. But the near impossibility of understanding these concepts in isolation from his previous thought should perhaps be evidence enough that they did not spring from nowhere. The presencing of the fourfold is the realization of Heidegger’s fascination with the sacred object and his attempt to account for the Catholic imaginative experience through phenomenology. Art provides a natural starting point for investigation on both phenomenological and Catholic grounds. Catholicism has always held a special reverence for art and this creates a distinct sense within the Catholic imagination that art and beauty matter. Father Greeley describes truly Catholic churches as “treasure houses of stories.”13 While the art in a cathedral does play a role in literally representing narratives of the faith, this also means that Catholics understand their lives in reference to the art of the church. And in the sacramental imagination Martin Heidegger, Being and Time, trans. John Macquarrie and Edward Robinson, 64, Kindle Edition. 12 Ibid., 69. 13 Greeley, The Catholic, 34. 11


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art does not only matter when it points to God, as Catholics who have since left the church retain a passionate appreciation for it. It matters as self-contained occasions for truth. Beauty is powerful force outside the Catholic tradition as well and has historically “been a bridge between believers and unbelievers.”14 It is therefore unsurprising that Heidegger would use beauty as a first major step towards the sacred. This reverence is abundant in “The Origin of the Work of Art.” Heidegger writes of the art as separate from the work of art, which is meant to be taken as both a noun and a verb. The art is what it does while “[t]he work makes public something other than itself; it manifests something other; it is an allegory.”15 The “other” which it makes manifest is truth. The truth in a work of art comes from the strife established between earth and world. Earth is the beings and world is the arrangement of those beings into the coherence which Dasein inhabits. Art takes the earth and uses it to put forth a world without “using up” the earth. This does not mean that art literally exists without the use of materials but rather that it makes no definitive claims to the truth of beings. The force of art belongs instead to the world which it sets up and “keeps…abidingly in force.”16 It is difficult to fully understand the meaning Heidegger assigns to art without understanding it as he presents it in “The Question Concerning Technology.” Here, art is a saving power from technology. Art and technology are both presented as modes of unconcealment, or aletheia. The danger of modern technology lies in its propensity towards Enframing where a being is revealed in one appearance and kept there.17 This “keeping there” is the standing reserve. Once a being in nature is revealed through technology as a source for something, it becomes only that source. A mountain is enframed as a standing reserve of coal and therefore denied its plenitude of appearances. Art saves because it is a revealing which does not enframe or destine beings to their one appearance. A major concern in Heidegger’s diagnosis of the “destitute time” in which we live is whether we are still capable of being saved by art. Attunement is brought forth as Heidegger describes a sacramental mode of Being-in-the-world necessary for the truth in art to do its work. The specific destitution of our modern time can be traced back to the flight of the gods. Heidegger does not mean to suggest that literal deities had once taken up residence in the Louvre and have since abandoned us but instead that we no longer experience the divine. Science and technology has only increased the remoteness of beings to us. Everything is explained away in terms of atomic structure or neurons firing. In short, nothing is allowed to matter. The objects of our care get farther and farther away as we neglect “that within which even the godhead itself is still present, the holy.”18 While Heidegger’s religious language is not indicative of some broader theological argument, the holy here does mean the sacred. The sacred is that which is brought near, it is the presencing. Here again the issue of attunement as a sacramental mode of Being-in-the-world becomes apparent. Heidegger speaks of the “turn of mortals” which will save us from the dark night of modernity coming when we have successfully made a home for the divine.19 This home is not a literal structure like an altar or a temple. It is a capacity to let Vanessa Friedman, “The Costume Institute Takes on Catholicism,” The New York Times, November 8, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/08/style/met-museum costume-institute-catholicism.html. 15 Martin Heidegger, “The Origin of the Work of Art,” in Basic Writings: From Being and Time (1927) to the Task of Thinking (1964), ed. David Farrell Krell, revised & expanded edition. ed. (New York: Harper Perennial Modern Thought, 2008), 145. 16 Ibid., 169. 17 Martin Heidegger, “The Question Concerning Technology,” in Basic Writings: From Being and Time (1927) to the Task of Thinking (1964), ed. David Farrell Krell, revised & expanded edition. ed. (New York: Harper Perennial Modern Thought, 2008). 18 Martin Heidegger, “What Are Poets For?” in Poetry, Language, Thought (New York: Harper Perennial Modern Thought, 2013), 92. 19 Ibid. 14


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art work. Mortals must “find the way to their own nature.”20 It is a rediscovery of temporality and care which will once again allow beings to be near. Art is merely the introduction, the last vestige of those who still “attend, singing, to the trace of the fugitive gods.”21 What is really needed, Heidegger eventually concludes, is an expansion of sacramentality to all beings. Object The transition between sacred art and sacred object in Heidegger is mediated by a discussion of dwelling. It is here that the elusive fourfold comes into view. The fourfold is Heidegger’s attempt at giving dimension to the world in which Dasein dwells. It consists of mortals, divinities, sky, and earth. Mortals are simply those who are capable of experiencing their death as a death and therefore temporal. The divinities are “the beckoning messengers of the godhead;” those which draw beings near.22 Earth and sky do not relate to the separation between ground and horizon but rather to the spaces in which man dwells. Man remains always on earth with his care directed towards the world into which he has been thrown and continues to fall. But the sky is that which he looks towards as the space between himself and the divinities, it is the unconcealedness of death as death and the question of Being. These all exist as a unity, a “simple oneness of the four.”23 Mortals dwell in this simple oneness in a mode Heidegger describes as “saving the earth.”24 As usual, this has nothing to do with the colloquial sense of the term. Men save the earth because they open a clearing into which beings can presence. They do not create the earth but they do allow it to matter. This saving, or dwelling, is the place where objects become truly sacred. The dwelling of mortals “keeps the fourfold in that which mortals stay: things.”25 It is the same sacramental attunement that allows Catholic churches to “be the center of events which bind together sacred time and sacred space.”26 Sanctity does not arise when God dwells but rather when mortals build a dwelling for the divine. When a thing becomes sacred it “things” in the same way a work of art works. It is a presencing insofar as it enters the clearing of being as both an appearance and an event of truth. That which opens the clearing is the sacramental attunement. An attunement does not so much change the beings we are with but rather the way in which we are with beings. Whatever this mood is, it allows the thing to thing by presencing the fourfold. The thing becomes the sort of sacred space that is usually only experienced by devout believers entering a Cathedral. Heidegger attempts to explain this sanctity through the example of the jug. A jug becomes sacred, he asserts, when the holding and pouring which belongs to the jug is seen as a gift. It is a gift in the sense of something being freely given and the freedom is that with which Heidegger first associated nearness in Being and Time. The same action can be a “mere filling and decanting” if the thing does not thing but rather only pours.27 It is only “[i]n the gift of the outpouring [that] earth and sky, mortals and divinities dwell together all at once.”28 Perhaps a more accessible example, depending on one’s preexisting relationship with water jugs, is a handmade baby blanket. This is an item for which more people are intuitively aware of its being as an event. A fact that is partially Ibid., 91. Ibid., 92. 22 Martin Heidegger, “Building Dwelling Thinking,” in Basic Writings: From Being and Time (1927) to the Task of Thinking (1964), ed. David Farrell Krell, revised & expanded edition. ed. (New York: Harper Perennial Modern Thought, 2008), 147. 23 Ibid. 24 Ibid., 148. 25 Ibid., 149. 26 Greeley, The Catholic, 35. 27 Martin Heidegger, “The Thing,” in Poetry, Language, Thought (New York: Harper Perennial Modern Thought, 2013), 171. 28 Ibid. 20 21


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assisted by the lack of any real instrumental or pragmatic use for such an item. Details aside, the mood which we often have towards baby blankets made and given as gifts is what makes it a valuable analog. The fourfold dwells in the blanket insofar as it brings each of the four into a single nearness or presence. The blanket becomes sacred when this fourfold is realized and the blanket becomes with-us on earth, under sky, as a mortal under the divine. It is the opposite of the anxiety that comes from staring into a mirror and suddenly realizing that there is no reason that you exist. It is a sudden feeling that there is a meaning in the existence of the object and it resides wholly within you and wholly within the world at the same time. The unity of the fourfold includes the unity of the self, as mortal, with the object. The experiential effect of this is a sudden change in the way we treat the blanket. It feels different in our hands and looks differently just tossed in a random corner. The way in which we interact with things thinging, or sacred objects, is a sort of privileged openness. We touch it with the desire to experience it as a thing not to understand it as a series of knots in yarn. It is not displayed as an aesthetic decision but rather because it feels like a necessity to do so. It demands to be included in the world because it is too near to be excluded from it. We experience it as we might experience art not because it is also beautiful or rare but because it is also sacred. The Buddhist Connection The impact of this understanding of sanctity in Heidegger is best demonstrated in reference to his engagement with Eastern religions and spirituality, specifically Zen Buddhism. Zen is taken as a natural route for comparison in part due to the obvious similarities in the base understanding of world but also due to Heidegger’s own direct interest in Zen at the end of his career. But the similarities begin to break down when proper attention is given to the role of the sacred object. His philosophy is instead found to be more in line with the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. Due to the fragmented and non-dogmatic nature of Buddhism, especially Zen, a few points of clarification are required before continuing. Given the context of the comparison, the primary source for Zen teachings will be D. T. Suzuki. Suzuki was a Buddhist professor and contemporary of Heidegger’s work. Suzuki became the “chief interpreter of Zen Buddhism to the West” and remains the foremost authority on the topic.29 While every practice of Zen is going to be slightly different, Suzuki provides a basic view of the goals and teachings of Zen that would have been common while Heidegger was alive. Tibetan Buddhism is still not a monolithic religion by any means but it is less fragmented. The Gelug school specifically has a structure which looks quite similar to Catholicism on a superficial level. The Dalai Lama is the head teacher of the faith while other respected teachers are referred to as Lamas. It is difficult to refer to previous incarnations of the Dalai Lama since in the Gelug faith he is a continuous reincarnation. This makes it both correct and incorrect to refer to previous Dalai Lamas as entirely different people or differentiate their thoughts and teachings depending on the source. I will almost exclusively be referring to the His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama since he was born in 1935 and therefore was the spiritual leader of the Gelug faith during Heidegger’s later works. With those parameters set, it is possible to examine Heidegger’s work in relation to both Zen and Gelug Tibetan Buddhism. The first question to address is why his work is so often discussed alongside Zen. Much of this has to do with the level of engagement Heidegger himself has with Buddhism and eastern religion/spirituality generally. He authored several works on the topic and showed a clear fascination with the East-West dialogue. A lot of this may have come from the deficiencies that Heidegger identifies in Western thought. In a 1936 interview conducted by a Buddhist monk, Heidegger explains that he finds the ancient traditions of East Asian societies to be far more advanced than the scientific and technological developments of Western nations. He takes special issue with the particular character of America and, unsurprising 29

“D.T. Suzuki,” in Encyclopedia Britannica, last modified October 14, 2019, accessed December 10, 2019, https://www.britannica.com/biography/D-T-Suzuki.


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given the timing, the atomic bomb.30 It appears then that Buddhism offers a valuable outlet for Heidegger to explore ideas that would otherwise be left out of his discourse with the West and this is a fair characterization of the situation. The problem comes when scholars pair a clumsy interpretation of his later mysticism with a clumsy understanding of East Asian thought. The result is an overemphasis on Zen as a revolutionary force in Heidegger’s work.31 What these analyses fail to recognize is the inherent distance that Zen creates between self and world and the direct contradiction that this poses to Heidegger. While Zen is highly ritualistic in nature, its equality of objects is not one of a heightening to a sacred possibility but rather a focus on what Heidegger would describe as the “mere.” In fact, all “those pious deeds considered to be meritorious or sanctifying by most so-called religiously minded people are artificialities in the eyes of Zen.”32 This is a radical divergence from the later work of Heidegger where the Catholic imagination towards sanctity and the holy becomes the strongest. In fact, the entire goal of Zen is to escape that which Heidegger most yearns for in his treatment of dwelling and things. To say that the two are analogous because Zen also appears to want things to just exist as they are is to fundamentally misunderstand the role that things play in either realm of thought. In order to arrive at the truth of things in Zen, it is necessary to “see them from the point where this world has not yet been created.”33 It is to experience objects with no binding imposed by our own consciousness or Being. But is this what Heidegger is advocating? The very experience of Dasein is to be in the world of beings. The oneness that things in their thinging reveal is what allows for “the basic character of Being,” dwelling.34 The place of objects in Zen disallows for the sort of dwelling that Heidegger reaches through his own treatment of things. This incongruence does not eliminate Buddhism as a realm of comparison but rather suggests that Gelug Tibetan Buddhism, which will be referred to as simply Tibetan Buddhism for the remainder of the essay for the sake of brevity, is a more fitting analog. The first similarity has to do with the radical nearness which objects can achieve. The sacred objects of Tibetan Buddhism are not just culturally important, they are vital to the faith35 in much the same way that objects and art define Catholic practice. The consecration of art objects in Tibetan ritual brings to presence the bodhisattva36 as the object of meditation.37 This is more than just a literally bringing forth of a deity or power, it is meant to give focus to meditation and therefore alter the Buddhist’s relationship with himself and the world. His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama speaks on using these sacred objects to meditate as a form of clearing the mind of “negative thoughts,” meant not in the western self-esteem sense but in the sense of thoughts which cause delusion and cloud the mind from truth. This positioning of objects is already more aligned with Heidegger and his strategy of taking an extended view of one thing in order to rid the Martin Heidegger, interview by Bhikku Maha Mani, A Buddhist monk probes Heidegger on the limits, and necessity, of philosophy, Aeon Video, 1963, accessed January 31, 2020, https://aeon.co/videos/a-buddhist-monk-probes-heidegger-on-the-limits-and necessity-of-philosophy. 31 Lin Ma, Heidegger on East-West Dialogue: Anticipating the Event (London: Routledge, 2008), 3. 32 Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, An Introduction to Zen Buddhism (New York: Grove Press, 1964), 39. 33 Ibid., 52. 34 Martin Heidegger, “Building Dwelling Thinking,” in Basic Writings: From Being and Time (1927) to the Task of Thinking (1964), ed. David Farrell Krell, revised & expanded edition. ed. (New York: Harper Perennial Modern Thought, 2008), 362. 35 Jonathan Landaw and Andy Weber, Images of Enlightenment: Tibetan Art in Practice (Ithaca, N.Y.: Snow Lion, 2006), 7. 36 This can be understood as a deity for the purposes of this discussion. 37 Emil Schlagintweit, Buddhism in Tibet (London: Trubner & Co, 1863), 203. 30


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delusions of a modern, techno-scientific view. The truth of these objects is also the source of their sanctity. Whereas Heidegger describes truth as a flash, His Holiness uses the metaphor of muddied water. He explains that the nature of the water as clear “does not exist somewhere outside the muddied water” and it is only by letting it be that its clarity will once again show itself.38 This clearing of being is the presencing of truth and the fourfold. Tibetan Buddhism is also a phenomenological religion. Tibetan Buddhist scholars frequently use the language of existentialists, even citing Heidegger,39 to explicate the treatment of things and logic in the tradition. Truth, in Gelugpa, is found in the world through the experience of the self. Severing oneself from the world as Zen suggests would sever oneself from a fundamentally important aspect of the noble path: emptiness. Emptiness, or shunyata, is used in many contexts across the Tibetan Buddhist faith. To understand shunyata is to understand whether phenomena are as they appear and it can refer either to a state of all reality or a meditative state. It is ultimately the same realization that comes about through anxiety with relation to the nothing. It is a non-nihilistic nihilation which sends all objects exponentially away from us. There is no “solid or objectifiable reality” but this is what allows “the true beauty and value of the world” to be discovered.40 Objects become near, and therefore sacred, precisely because they have been nihilated by our meditation on them. Art creates meaning insofar as we recognize that it must create meaning in order for meaning to exist at all. The nihilation of Being leads not just to peace and compassion but to sanctified beauty shining forth from the world as truth. There are countless points of comparison and ontological similarities to be made between Heidegger and Tibetan Buddhism but they all follow from the role of the sacred object and would be lost without such understanding. Conclusion Overall, Heidegger had an enchanted imagination that did not suddenly appear throughout his works but rather grew in prominence. His phenomenological method forced him to reconcile the sacred experiences he had as a Catholic with a world view that did not explicitly include God. While the groundwork for this struggle is present throughout his work, it comes to prominence in his discussions of art and beauty. The instrumentality of Being and Time was never sufficient to fulfill his fascination with the sacred but there had been no clear path towards a total sanctified mode of being until the introduction of art. His treatment of the topic provides both a grounding and a freedom to recognize the importance of things is an integral part of the importance of world. Through a discussion of dwelling, Heidegger eventually manages to sanctify all objects without an explicit presencing of God. Being is instead the force which presences itself and sanctifies the objects which make up the world of Dasein. Placing his works in this context allows for continuity between all of his writings, though not perfectly linear, and retains their common goal. It also leads to a more interesting comparison in the East-West dialogue that Heidegger was so passionately part of. Zen Buddhism raises some interesting questions but it pales in comparison to the possibilities that exist in the Gelug School of Tibetan Buddhism. It is already a phenomenological religion but its sanctified treatment of objects makes it uniquely suited for further engagement with Heidegger.

Ibid., 18. Steven D. Goodman and Ronald M. Davidson, Tibetan Buddhism: Reason and Revelation (SUNY Series in Buddhist Studies) (n.p.: State University of New York Press, 1992), 32. 40 Reginald A. Ray, Indestructible Truth: The Living Spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism (Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2000), loc 1121, Kindle. 38 39


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Works Cited Dubus, Andre. Meditations from a Movable Chair: Essays. Thorndike, Me.: Thorndike Press, 1999. Friedman, Vanessa. “The Costume Institute Takes on Catholicism.” The New York Times, November 8, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/08/style/met-museumcostume-institute-catholicism.html. Goodman, Steven D., and Ronald M. Davidson. Tibetan Buddhism: Reason and Revelation (SUNY Series in Buddhist Studies). N.p.: State University of New York Press, 1992. Greeley, Andrew M. The Catholic Imagination. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000. Kindle edition. Heidegger, Martin. Being and Time. Translated by John Macquarrie and Edward Robinson. Kindle Edition. ———.“Being and Time: Introduction.” In Basic Writings: From Being and Time (1927) to the Task of Thinking (1964), edited by David Farrell Krell, 37-88. Revised & expanded edition. ed. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Thought, 2008. ———.“Building Dwelling Thinking.” In Basic Writings: From Being and Time (1927) to the Task of Thinking (1964), edited by David Farrell Krell, 343-64. Revised & expanded edition. ed. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Thought, 2008. ———.Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit. Translated by Parvis Emand and Kenneth Maly. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press, 1994. ———.Interview by Bhikku Maha Mani. A Buddhist monk probes Heidegger on the limits, and necessity, of philosophy. Aeon Video, 1963. Accessed January 31, 2020. https://aeon.co/ videos/a-buddhist-monk-probes-heidegger-on-the-limits-and-necessity-of-philosophy. ———.“The Origin of the Work of Art.” In Basic Writings: From Being and Time (1927) to the Task of Thinking (1964), edited by David Farrell Krell, 139-212. Revised & expanded edition. ed. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Thought, 2008. ———.The Phenomenology of Religious Life. Translated by Matthias Fritsch and Jennifer Anna Gosetti-Ferencei. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2010. Digital file. https://0-ebookcentral-proquest-com.read.cnu.edu/lib/cnu/reader. action?docID=613597&ppg=1 ———.“The Question Concerning Technology.” In Basic Writings: From Being and Time (1927) to the Task of Thinking (1964), edited by David Farrell Krell, 307-42. Revised & expanded edition. ed. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Thought, 2008. ———.Supplements: From the Earliest Essays to Being and Time and beyond. Edited by John Van Buren. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2002. Digital file. https://0-ebookcentral-proquest-com.read.cnu.edu/lib/cnu/reader. action?docID=3408112&ppg=1 ———.“The Thing.” In Poetry, Language, Thought, 161-84. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Thought, 2013. ———.“What Are Poets For?” In Poetry, Language, Thought, 87-139. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Thought, 2013. Ma, Lin. Heidegger on East-West Dialogue: Anticipating the Event. London: Routledge, 2008. Moran, Dermot. “What Does Heidegger Mean by the Transcendence of Dasein?” International Journal of Philosophical Studies 22, no. 4 (October 2014): 491-514. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/09672559.2014.948717. Ray, Reginald A. Indestructible Truth: The Living Spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2000. Kindle. Richardson, William J., and Martin Heidegger. Heidegger, through Phenomenology to Thought. 3rd ed. The Hague: M. Nijhoff, 1974.


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Risser, James. Heidegger toward the Turn: Essays on the Work of the 1930s. New York: State University of New York, 1999. Suzuki, Daisetz Teitaro. An Introduction to Zen Buddhism. New York: Grove Press, 1964. Yen, Sheng. Meeting of Minds: A Dialogue on Tibetan and Chinese Buddhism. Translated by Wang Ming Yee, Geshe Thutben Jinpa, and Guo-ge. N.p., 1999.

About the Author Hannah Jackson is a graduating senior with the class of 2020 at Christopher Newport University. She majored in American studies and philosophy with a minor in U.S. national security studies. While at CNU, Hannah worked as a junior fellow with the Center for American Studies and as a resident assistant. She was a member of student honor council and the pre-law program. She has presented several papers at the Midwest Political Science Association annual conference and had two other papers accepted for presentation at the Virginia Humanities Conference and the North Carolina Philosophical Society Annual Joint Meeting. Hannah will be attending Boston College Law School this fall and hopes to eventually pursue a joint J.D. and Ph.D. She hopes this will aid in her goal of working as an antiquities or fine art lawyer for either a museum or private collections.


“Perceptions of Criminal Recidivism in the Christopher Newport University Community� Kaylee D. Johnson Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Christopher Loy, Department of Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology

Abstract This research examines how students at Christopher Newport University attribute the causes, characteristics, and solutions of criminal recidivism and whether these attributions correctly implicate these causes, characteristics, and solutions as arising from the external forces surrounding former offenders, rather than their internal personalities and dispositions. The study presented current Christopher Newport University students with a survey asking students to answer questions about which types of former offenders they believed would be most likely to recidivate and why. Results indicate that student level of familiarity with criminal recidivism had no significant relationship to whether students attributed the causes recidivism to internal dispositions or external forces. However, regardless of their of level of familiarity with criminal recidivism, Christopher Newport University students were largely able to accurately attribute the causes of recidivism to the external forces surrounding former offenders. The discussion and conclusion of this study examine the implications of these findings in regards to attribution theory as well as the workings of the criminal justice system.


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Introduction The United States criminal justice system is far from perfect. Some critics even go as far as to say that the country’s system of handling and preventing crime is less than adequate. In any case, the United States criminal justice system is built upon a model of deterrence, by which the threat and use of severe punishment on criminal offenders is said to deter these offenders from future criminal activity (National Institute of Justice 2016). In theory, the deterrence model of criminal justice provides members of society with incentive to abide by the laws. Those who choose to break the laws receive punishment, typically in the form of a prison sentence, that supposedly incentivizes them to return to society and refrain from future offending. Unfortunately, one of the major problems that has plagued the criminal justice system since its inception of the deterrence model is the return of offenders to criminal activity after release from incarceration, which is better known today as criminal recidivism (National Institute of Justice 2016). Criminal recidivism is typically defined as the act of reengaging in criminal offending after having received punishment in a correctional institution and been released from incarceration (Pew Charitable Trusts 2011). Pew Charitable Trusts (2011) also notes that recidivism, which can consist of either committing a new crime or violating conditional release, generally occurs within three to five years after release from incarceration or placement on probation. According to research done by Pew Charitable Trusts on recidivism rates, of the inmates across the nation released in 1999, 45.4 percent returned to prison within a period of five years. Additionally, since 1999, the recidivism rate for the nation has increased by 11.9 percent (Pew Charitable Trusts 2011). Similarly, the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that, of the inmates released in 2005, 35 percent recidivated within 3 years and 43 percent recidivated within 5 years (Markman et al. 2016). It is also important to note that 47 percent of conditionally released prisoners recidivated within 5 years compared to 77 percent of prisoners released on community supervision (Markman et al. 2016). Clearly, this is an enormous problem for the criminal justice system, as research suggests that almost half of all released prisoners return to incarceration after a short period of time. The purpose of this study is to better understand how Christopher Newport University students’ perceptions on criminal recidivism and their attributions of the causes of this issue are influenced by their status as outsiders to the criminal justice system. However, though research suggests there are several important causes of recidivism, it is still somewhat unclear as to why criminal recidivism occurs and how understanding the attributions associated with this issue can help the criminal justice system to prevent the issue from becoming an even larger problem in the future. Review of the Literature In order to help uncover answers to the question of why recidivism occurs, one must first understand how one’s preconceived notions about criminal recidivists perpetuate stigmas associated with these individuals and prolong structural inequalities that prevent these individuals from desisting from crime. In the case of this research study, these preconceived notions will be observed through the lens of attribution theory. Attribution theory is a sociological theory created by Fritz Heider in 1958 that specifically examines the way a social perceiver uses information gathered from observation to form a causal judgement about an individual or group of individuals (Crittenden 1983). This theory posits that the social perceiver can assign the causes of behavior to either the internal characteristics of an individual or the external forces surrounding that individual based on how their information is gathered. It may be likely that, in the case of criminal recidivism, the public social observer attributes the causes of recidivism to internal, biological, genetic, and psychological characteristics of offenders. On the other hand, depending on how the social observer receives their information, they may attribute the causes of recidivism to external, societal forces that pressure individuals to commit crime.


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Very little research on public perception of criminal recidivism has been carried out among members in the field of criminology. However, the couple of journal articles that deal specifically with this topic have observed a general lack of knowledge about the criminal justice system among those studied. Iudici, Boccato, and Faccio (2018: 66), in surveying groups of recidivists, one-time offenders, prison workers, and ordinary people, found that the general public tended to describe typical recidivists as people who are naturally, either because of biological or psychological factors, more likely to be “dangerous, victims of circumstance, and lacking awareness.” Additionally, these ordinary people stated in their surveys that they did not believe anyone released from prison would be able to refrain from recidivating, due to their “disturbed personality” (Iudici et al. 2018: 65). However, while its takeaways about perceptions of the general public on the causes of recidivism are quite useful, this study was completed in Italy, dealt primarily with perceptions on Italian reoffenders, and cannot necessarily be applied to the United States’ criminal justice system. Similarly, Roberts’s (1992) study on recidivism and public opinion focused primarily on the country of Canada, so it is limited in its application to the United States. The United States’ criminal justice system focuses on a deterrence approach to crime, or the idea that crime can be prevented through threats of punishment, while the majority of the rest of the world, including Italy and Canada, utilizes a more rehabilitative approach, or one that focuses less on punishment and more on successful reentry into society (Reid 2015). Thus, because the United States uses a different approach to criminal justice, it is hard to generalize results found in other countries to the criminal justice system of the United States. However, it is important to note that Roberts (1992) found, through conducting focus groups, interviews, and surveys, that much of the Canadian public knows very little about crimerelated statistics and tends to overestimate the amount of recidivism occurring in the country. These pieces of literature, like most of the other scholarly work on the causes and characteristics of recidivism, do not approach this topic from the lens of attribution theory. Rather, much of the research on this topic focuses on what types of individuals are most likely to recidivate, what these individuals deem to be causal factors of their recidivism, and what solutions are most effective at reducing their recidivism rates. In the current study, attribution theory is being used as a lens through which the causes, characteristics, and solutions of criminal recidivism can be viewed in terms of how the general public, or outsiders to the criminal justice system, perceives this issue. Other pieces of scholarly literature, that have effectively determined who is likely to be a typical recidivist and what leads them to recidivate, are being used as a kind of “truth” about the issue. These authors are considered to be insiders to the criminal justice system, and in essence, what these authors describe to be occurring, will be taken as the reality of what is actually occurring. While these pieces of literature are not being viewed in the context of attribution theory, their findings deal heavily with characteristics and causes of recidivism that can be attributed to both internal and external factors. In reviewing the literature on the topic of criminal recidivism, it became apparent that previous research focused on four basic themes. First, much of the literature on recidivism examined the specific characteristics of recidivists or certain causal factors associated with high recidivism rates. Mandel et al. (1965), after following 446 male offenders for five years after their release from prison, found that more than half of the men in the sample recidivated within a period of two years. The men who recidivated were characteristically young and were likely to have been dishonorably discharged from the military. They tended to have poor occupational skills, issues with their home lives, and low educational abilities. Additionally, these men were typically property criminals, who had been reconvicted because of similar property crimes, and were likely to have received harsh discipline during their initial incarceration (Mandel et al. 1965). While this study is certainly old, it is seminal in nature, and the characteristics of recidivists identified by Mandel et al. (1965) have appeared in more recent studies, which helps to show the accuracy of their findings in 1965 and the foundational effects of their research.


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Wikoff, Linhorst, and Morani (2012), after studying two groups of inmates released from the Missouri Department of Corrections, also determined that the individuals most likely to recidivate are those who have not earned a high school diploma or GED. Additionally, recidivists are less likely to adjust well to institutionalization and tend to have severe substance abuse issues (Wikoff et al. 2012). Similarly, Huebner and Berg (2011), in their nine-year-long study of 3,786 men released from prison, discovered that individuals with drug dependence are much quicker to recidivate than individuals without substance abuse issues. Huebner and Berg also found that young men with extensive criminal histories and histories of institutional misconduct are at the highest risk for recidivism, though married men tended to be delayed in their reoffence rates. Additionally, after studying a sample of 332 young men released from prison in a Midwestern state, Huebner, Varano, and Bynum (2007) also noted that drug dependent individuals are at the highest risk for recidivism as well as individuals involved in gang membership prior to their original conviction. However, Huebner et al. (2007) specified that gun use prior to imprisonment had no unique effect on recidivism, likely because it was so pervasive among their sample of men. In any case, it seems that the individuals most likely to reoffend are young, property criminals with low educational abilities, who tend to have substance abuse issues and fail to adjust well to incarceration. In addition to uncovering specific characteristics of recidivists, many of the studies on this topic identify causal factors that may lead to recidivism for these individuals. In studying ex-inmate data on a sample of 54,359 inmates released from Florida state prisons, Wang, Hay, Todak, and Bales (2014) discovered that men released to more urban areas were at the highest risk for recidivism. Additionally, they noted that other external factors, like living in close proximity to other offenders, increased the likelihood that ex-offenders would recidivate. The extensive criminal history of these ex-offenders coupled with their strong, internal criminal propensities were also strong factors that likely led them to recidivate (Wang et al. 2014). Berg and Huebner (2011) found that strong family ties were correlated to post-release success among ex-offenders, whereas weak family ties were likely to lead to recidivism. Berg and Huebner, in their four-year-long study of 401 males on parole, also noted that individuals with strong family ties were more likely to obtain employment and were, thus, less likely to recidivate. However, in terms of external pressures to commit crime, individuals with histories of frequent unemployment were less likely to find employment upon release, which contributed to the high likelihood of their recidivism (Berg and Huebner 2011). Finally, Schiavone and Jeglic (2009) surveyed 115 community members from 15 different states about their specific perceptions on sex-offenders and the effectiveness of sex-offender policies and found that, while sex-offender policies tended to make people feel safer in their communities and more knowledgeable about their neighbors, the community members did not feel that these policies necessarily helped to prevent or decrease recidivism, and thus, were not causal factors of desistence. Regardless, as the above studies show, it seems as though more external factors, like weak ties to family, lack of employment, and living in close proximity to other offenders are significant causal factors of recidivism for individuals recently released from incarceration. The second theme that flowed throughout the literature was a discussion of the perceptions of ex-offenders on reentry, recidivism, and the difficulties they face in the community after release. Halsey (2007) followed and quantitatively interviewed 25 men about their experience with the criminal justice system and found that all had spent time in juvenile detention before being remanded to the adult correctional system. In their interviews, the men stated that they felt that external factors, like difficulty obtaining housing accommodations, issues with housing placements, and unfamiliarity with domestic life all contributed to their reoffence and reincarceration. They also cited the negative, external influence of friends and family as a causal factor of recidivism and stated that they believed they had to return to certain criminal activities, like selling drugs, in order to earn enough money to survive in their communities. Finally,


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Halsey (2007) also discovered that many of the men he interviewed, who were reincarcerated due to technical violations of probation or parole, were either confused or uninformed about the specific conditions of their conditional release, which ultimately led to their reconviction. Similarly, Davis, Bahr, and Ward (2012) qualitatively interviewed 16 men going through the revolving door of incarceration and release and found that these men also tended to identify several major factors that they perceived to be causal factors of their recidivism. Like the men in Halsey’s (2007) study, these men also felt that external forces, like family issues, the negative influence of friends, and substance abuse all helped to contribute to their reoffence and reincarceration (Davis et al. 2012). However, many of the ex-offenders in the Davis et al. (2012) study stated that they believed obtaining employment helped them to stay clean and out of trouble, while being denied employment forced them to return to criminal activity. They also felt that the more motivation they had, the more likely they were to desist from recidivating and that the older they became, the less interested they were in continuing to offend (Davis et al. 2012). In any case, as these studies show, upon release from incarceration, all individuals face challenges in reentering society, and those without a support system or those lacking employment or housing tend to be the individuals who recidivate the earliest and most frequently. As for the third theme, much of the previous scholarly research on recidivism also identified alternatives to incarceration that present potential solutions to the problem of recidivism by targeting both internal characteristics and external factors that lead individuals to recidivate. In investigating the effect of prison diversion programs on recidivism rates by analyzing whether offenders sentenced to prison were more likely to recidivate than those diverted from prison, Bales and Piquero (2012) found that these programs tend to have a deterrent effect on the likelihood of recidivism, while incarceration tends to produce a criminogenic effect that leads to higher rates of recidivism. Similarly, Wikoff et al. (2012) studied the effect of prisoner reentry programs on recidivism rates and found that the individuals who participated in these programs, which teach offenders how to effectively transition from prison to the community by assisting with job applications, financial aid, housing, and education services, were less likely to recidivate than the non-participants. Additionally, after synthesizing the findings from 2,176 research studies on the effects of cognitive behavioral therapy programs on recidivism rates, Pearson et al. (2002) found that this type of therapy, which teaches offenders how their actions led to incarceration and how they can develop alternative behaviors and thought processes so they do not offend again, significantly reduces recidivism rates among participants in these programs. From the lens of attribution theory, much of the research on characteristics, selfidentified causes, and solutions of recidivism seem to point to the idea that external, societal forces are heavily responsible for recidivism. However, the fourth theme flowing throughout the literature dealt with several studies discussing the workings of the criminal judicial system in terms of how non-offenders make attributions about offenders and pointed to more internal attributions of the causes of recidivism. According to Sanderson, Zanna, and Darley (2000: 1155), in studying the judgements of 85 individuals on recidivists, these individuals “use information about the severity of the crime and how likely they believe that the offender will commit this crime again to make attributions about the perpetrator’s personality,” which in turn influences the length of sentence they impose on an offender. Recidivists, then, in criminal court, are more likely to receive longer sentences from judges than first-time offenders because they are perceived to be more dangerous people whose previous punishment in the carceral system did not help them to sufficiently internalize societal norms against committing crime (Sanderson et al. 2000). After studying 233 narrative reports by probation officers in three different states, Steffensmeier, Ulmer, and Kramer (1998) found that, not only do probation officers tend to portray young black men as delinquent due to negative attitudinal and personality traits, court officials, who read these narrative reports, rely more heavily on negative internal attributions than the severity of the crime or prior criminal history when determining sentence length and the


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likelihood of recidivism. Similarly, Bridges and Steen (1998), in studying sentencing outcomes in Pennsylvania from 1989 to 1992, discovered that judges frequently tend to make decisions about sentencing based, in large part, on the attributions of a defendant’s biological characteristics, such as their race, gender, and age, which these judges believe show increased dangerousness or likelihood of recidivism. In the court room and in probation offices, at least, it seems as though insiders to the criminal justice system, like judges, court officials, and probation officers, tend to attribute the likelihood of recidivism to the internal, biological and psychological characteristics of individuals and adjust prison sentencing to reflect these attributions. Some studies on criminality and personality indicate that there is a possible link between criminal offending and internal disposition. For example, Sinha (2016) suggests that personality is a major factor in criminal behavior. According to this study on 37 incarcerated men in India, criminals tend to be more independent, careless individuals who are distrustful of others and possess below average intelligence (Sinha 2016). However, as discussed previously, this study cannot necessarily be generalized to United States criminals because of differences in criminal justice systems between differing countries. Additionally, a study comparing 113 studies on criminal propensity and personality characteristics found that the majority of these types of studies had doubtful validity or did not significantly show a connection between criminal offending and personality, thus indicating that personality factors and criminal behavior are merely correlated (Schuessler and Cressey 1950). Even the majority of studies cited in this paper overwhelmingly state that internal dispositions are of little importance in comparison to the external forces that offenders face (Berg and Huebner 2011; Davis et al. 2012; Halsey 2007). Perhaps the criminal justice system’s history of linking criminal behavior to individuals of certain races has led scholars to investigate the connection between internal dispositions and criminal offending and created bias in their findings. Perhaps the criminal justice system’s desire to medicalize criminality in today’s world has continued to imply to scholars that crime and personality are linked. In any case, while personality and internal dispositions likely play some role in causing criminal offending, it is not the only factor, nor even the most important factor, responsible for criminal recidivism. Based on what can be understood from previous literature on the topic of perceptions of criminal recidivism, it seems as though, while internal factors, like criminal propensity and mental state, have a slight impact on the causes of recidivism, much of what leads offenders to recidivate is external. According to the literature, the external factors that contribute most significantly to recidivism generally include a lack of opportunity based on economic struggles or poor education, difficulty obtaining housing or employment upon release due to societal stigma, and trouble resulting from returning to negative familial and community influences. Previous literature has discussed, in depth, the characteristics of recidivists, causal factors of recidivism, offender perceptions on the causes of recidivism, and non-incarcerative solutions to the issue. Additionally, several pieces of literature describe the way attributions of criminal offenders pervade the criminal justice system. However, while some articles have discussed public understanding of recidivism, this section of the literature is very small, does not always apply to the United States criminal justice system, and does not view the issue from the lens of attribution theory. Thus, there is a significant gap in the literature as to how the general public uses attributions to form their understanding of the typical characteristics of recidivists as well as the causes of recidivism. In order to help fill this gap in the literature, I plan to research what students at Christopher Newport University attribute as the causes of recidivism, whether that be the internal characteristics of recidivists and the social groups to which they belong or the external forces surrounding these individuals and their social groups. A vast majority of the research on the topic of recidivism looks at the attributions of insiders to the criminal justice system on recidivists. As outsiders to the criminal justice system, Christopher Newport University students are less involved in everyday interactions with


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offenders and are likely to be less aware of both the internal characteristics of offenders as well as the external struggles and pressures by which these individuals are surrounded. Additionally, almost all Christopher Newport University students are likely to affect the criminal justice system in some way after they leave school, whether that be as a policymaker, as a voter who elects policymakers, as juror, or as an employee in the system. Thus, as a portion of the larger population, and as individuals who may one day affect change surrounding the issue of criminal recidivism, it is important to understand the perceptions of Christopher Newport University students on this issue. For example, if outsiders attribute the causes of recidivism to the internal characteristics of individuals, this is likely to perpetuate the already established stigma against certain groups of people in the criminal justice system, which makes it more difficult for offenders to reenter these communities, that likely believe them to be criminal people by nature. Similarly, if individuals, like policymakers, who are outsiders to the criminal justice system, yet control parts of how the system is run, attribute the causes of recidivism to internal characteristics, they are likely to overlook external forces that may be responsible for recidivism, and their policies to reduce recidivism may not target the proper issues. Therefore, it is important to understand how outsiders attribute the causes of recidivism, because identifying whether these individuals believe recidivism is product of internal characteristics or external forces can allow for improvements in the criminal justice system and beyond, like decreased stigmatization and better policy, that may lead to a reduction in criminal recidivism as a whole. Methods The goal of this paper is to better understand whether the general public’s attributions of criminal recidivists and the causes of recidivism allow them to make accurate inferences as to what peer-reviewed studies have identified as the causes of recidivism. These causes tend to include such external factors as a lack of opportunity based on economic struggles or poor education, difficulty obtaining housing or employment upon release due to societal stigma, and trouble resulting from returning to negative familial and community influences (Davis et al. 2012; Halsey 2007). Specifically, this paper will investigate how the perceptions of Christopher Newport University students on criminal recidivism are shaped by their status as outsiders to the criminal justice system. This paper hypothesizes that outsiders to the criminal justice system, because of their lack of personal exposure to the issue of recidivism, will likely attribute the causes and characteristics of recidivism to the internal forces at play within the recidivists themselves. In order to adequately investigate this question and better understand how one’s status as an outsider to the criminal justice system affects one’s ability to accurately attribute the causes of recidivism and make inferences about the behavior of criminal offenders, a portion of the general public must be surveyed on this topic. Hopefully, the results of this survey allow for generalizations to be made about the general public’s accuracy in attributing the causes of recidivism. Understanding how the general public attributes the causes of recidivism will help identify whether these individuals truly understand what causes offenders to recidivate, which will allow for changes to be made in the criminal justice system and beyond that attack the right issues and help to decrease recidivism. This study was carried out in the spring of 2020 at Christopher Newport University, a public university located in Newport News, Virginia and surveyed current Christopher Newport University students on their perceptions of criminal recidivism. According to the diversity statistics listed on Christopher Newport University’s website for the Fall 2019 Undergraduate Head Count, the university consists of approximately 76.7 percent white students, 6.1 percent black or African American students, 5.9 percent Hispanic or Latino students, 3.5 percent Asian or Pacific Islander students, and 5.2 percent multi-race students (Christopher Newport University 2020). This is very similar to the racial breakdown of respondents to the survey in this study. The sample group of 105 respondents for this project consisted of 82.9 percent


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white respondents, 4.8 percent black or African American respondents, 1.9 percent Hispanic or Latino respondents, 5.7 percent Asian or Pacific Islander respondents, and 3.8 percent multi-race respondents. Additionally, according to the United States census, of the current undergraduate college student population in the United States, 52.9 percent are white, 15.1 percent are black or African American, 20.9 percent are Hispanic or Latino, and 7.6 percent are Asian or Pacific Islander (U.S. Census Bureau 2019). Because this sample group is racially similar to Christopher Newport University as an institution, it is likely that this project can be considered a test study whose findings can be generalized to the larger population of students at Christopher Newport University. In addition, the findings of this project can also likely contribute to a broader discussion on how this data relates to undergraduate students in the United States, as the racial breakdown of a typical undergraduate university is somewhat similar to the racial breakdown seen in responses to this survey. Additionally, the larger population of Christopher Newport University students, who are represented in the sample group of this study, likely have a median family income of approximately $129,300 (Buchanan et al. 2017). According to a study on economic diversity for public universities in the United States, about 60 percent of Christopher Newport University students come from the top 20 percent of the income bracket (Buchanan 2017). The results of this study place these students in what is considered the upper-middle social class, where the median family income ranges from $126,000 to $188,000 (Pew Research Center 2015). The majority of Christopher Newport University students, because of their status as members of the upper-middle class, are also unlikely to have a personal connection with an individual involved in the criminal justice system. According to a study completed by the Equal Justice Initiative (2019), “adults with household incomes of less than $25,000 per year are 61 percent more likely than adults with household incomes of more than $100,000� to have a personal connection to an individual involved in the criminal justice system. Similarly, only about 10.5 percent of respondents to this project’s survey indicated that they had any personal connection to an individual involved in the criminal justice system. Thus, it also seems that this project on perceptions of criminal recidivism can be used as an exploratory test study whose findings can be generalized to the general upper-middle class public, as they, like Christopher Newport University students, tend to be outsiders to the criminal justice system. Ideally, this project will be used as a test study on Christopher Newport University students that will help to determine whether there is a relationship in the general public between being an outsider to the criminal justice system and attributions of the causes of recidivism. Christopher Newport University students were chosen as the population for this study, because as outsiders to the criminal justice system, they are unlikely to be involved in everyday interactions with offenders and are likely to be somewhat unaware of both the internal characteristics of offenders as well as the external struggles and pressures by which these offenders are surrounded. Many of these students are likely to affect the criminal justice system in some way after they leave the university, whether that be as a policymaker, as a voter who elects policymakers, as a juror deciding the fate of offenders, or as an employee in the system working with these individuals. Thus, as a portion of the larger population, and as individuals who may one day affect change surrounding the issue of criminal recidivism, it is important to understand the perceptions of Christopher Newport University students on this issue. Additionally, this population was also chosen because they were the most easily accessible group of individuals for the researcher to survey, and the size of the sample studied in this research project is quite similar to previous peer-reviewed quantitative studies on perceptions of criminal recidivism, like Sanderson et al. (2000). Due to the time constraint of fifteen weeks allotted to complete this research project as well as the fact that this project is an exploratory test study, the method of sampling used in this study was convenience sampling. This type of non-probability sampling was utilized


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because of the easily accessible nature of the student body at Christopher Newport University and the necessity to obtain as many survey responses as possible in the shortened time frame. Though most exploratory test studies utilize convenience sampling, any future research looking to expand upon the findings in this project should look to more fully randomize sample groups. In terms of this project, the responses of all Christopher Newport University students willing to take the survey were recorded and analyzed for the purpose of better understanding how the perceptions of these students on the issue of criminal recidivism are shaped by their status as outsiders to the criminal justice system. This sampling method garnered 105 survey respondents, the majority of whom were female (78.1 percent), white (82.9 percent), graduating in the year 2021 (31.4 percent), and nineteen years old (33.3 percent). Again, the size of this sample was similar to the sample size in Sanderson et al.’s (2000) study on public perception of criminal recidivism. The unit of analysis utilized in this project was a mainly quantitative survey with a few qualitative questions added throughout to allow respondents the ability to contextualize their answers. The researcher felt that a quantitative survey would be most effective for this project because of its ability to provide the researcher with a broader understanding of the research question. Additionally, the data that a quantitative survey provides can be used, in the best-case scenarios, to test the hypotheses of a study and generalize the findings to the target population, which, for this project, would be the general public. Typically, quantitative methods for obtaining and analyzing data allow for the data in a particular study to be generalized to the target population. In this research project, quantitative methods were chosen for collecting and analyzing data on the perceptions of Christopher Newport University students in order to generalize this data to the target population. Very little research on public perception of criminal recidivism has been carried out among members in the field of criminology. However, the conclusions of the few articles that have discussed public understanding of recidivism do not always apply to the United States criminal justice system, do not view the issue from the lens of attribution theory, and typically utilize more qualitative methods, rather than quantitative methods, to obtain and analyze their data. For example, Sanderson et al. (2000) completed one of the only quantitative studies on the perceptions of the public on the concept of criminal recidivism, though their sample size was relatively small for this type of analysis, with only 85 respondents to their questionnaire. Because of the smaller sample sizes associated with studies utilizing qualitative methods (all of the qualitative studies mentioned in the literature review have sample sizes smaller than 100), they are less generalizable to the general public and cannot give an accurate picture of true public perception on criminal recidivism. However, this project utilizes quantitative data collection and analysis methods as a way to add to previous research on the topic and, hopefully, allow for information on the perceptions of Christopher Newport University students on criminal recidivism to be generalizable to the public at large and to indicate whether there is a relationship between outsider status to the criminal justice system and attributions of the causes of recidivism. In conducting this study, the researcher had three major ethical concerns. First, any Christopher Newport University student under the age of eighteen would be unable to provide consent for this project and unable to participate in the survey. In the survey, respondents were asked to select their age, and the researcher planned to remove any responses from those under eighteen and discard them appropriately. However, no respondents indicated in the survey that they were under the age of eighteen. Second, conducting online surveys prevents challenges in maintaining the confidentiality of participants. To ensure that respondents remained confidential, the researcher made sure neither the names nor email addresses of respondents were collected through Google Forms or within the questions of the survey itself. Finally, the survey posed some questions that may have been uncomfortable for respondents to answer or required personal responses that individuals may not have wanted to answer. As such, all responses, besides informed consent and age, were made voluntary. If respondents did not wish to answer certain


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questions, they would be able to skip them and move on to the next question. In addition to ethical implications, this study poses several limitations that prevent it from being fully generalizable, reliable, and valid. First and foremost, the small size of the sample in this project is only a fraction of the Christopher Newport University population, as the sample consists of 105 respondents, while the university enrolls approximately 5,000 students. Additionally, the demographics of the sample are much more similar to the demographic make-up of the university than of the public at large, though the sample is slightly skewed in gender breakdown toward females. As such, it is likely that this data can only be generalized to the Christopher Newport University population, as well as to other universities with similar demographic make-ups, rather than to the general public as a whole. Due to the limitations of time and circumstances surrounding this research project, the number of respondents is not optimal. However, the respondents’ demographic similarity to the target population will allow their responses to be useful indicators of perceptions more generally. Additionally, as discussed previously, the majority of Christopher Newport University students are members of the uppermiddle class, and as such, some of the data obtained from this study may be able to be discussed in regards to the larger upper-middle class population. The use of convenience sampling in this project also poses a higher level of selection bias and sampling error, which prevents the data from being fully reliable, in terms of producing the same result when research is repeated under similar conditions, as well as generalizable to the target population. The shortened time frame of fifteen weeks for the completion of this project and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on university operations also prevented the researcher from engaging significantly with other researchers to review the project and help reduce any error and bias that may be present, thus affecting the validity of the research. However, though the COVID-19 pandemic forced the university to close, no significant differences were observed between survey responses recorded pre-closure and those recorded post-closure. Additionally, the researcher is very familiar with the topic of criminal recidivism and is passionate about educating others on the “truth� of the matter, which could present some possible bias in the collection and analysis of data that, without extensive revisions and review, is unable to be fully prevented. Finally, the shortened time frame allotted for the completion of this project also prevented extensive data triangulation that would have allowed for a greater understanding and analysis of the findings presented, thus hindering the reliability and validity of this project. As for project design, respondents were asked to complete a twenty-minute Google Forms survey consisting of demographic questions such as race, gender, anticipated graduation year, and age, as well as several yes/no and Likert scale questions and two qualitative questions with textboxes provided. After filling out demographic data, respondents were asked their level of familiarity with criminal recidivism. They were then provided with a definition of the concept and were asked whether they believed certain groups of individuals, such as those of certain races, socioeconomic statuses, or ages, were likely to recidivate. Respondents were then asked a series of questions regarding internal dispositions of offenders and asked to state to what extent they believed these internal factors caused the aforementioned groups of individuals to recidivate. Respondents were then presented with a series of questions regarding external factors surrounding offenders and asked to state to what extent they believed these external factors caused these groups of individuals to recidivate. Finally, respondents were asked their beliefs about the level of effectiveness of solutions to recidivism, which were categorized by solutions to internal dispositions of offenders and solutions to external forces surrounding offenders. Once all survey responses had been collected, the data was converted to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet in order for the researcher to perform data analysis. Specifically, this project analyzed whether there is a relationship between level of familiarity with criminal recidivism and the tendency to agree that external factors are more likely to cause recidivism than internal dispositions. Additionally, this project analyzed the likelihood of relationships between responses


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to questions dealing with both internal and external causes of recidivism to determine whether responses remained consistent across different categories of questions. First, bi-variate crosstabulations were performed between responses to level of familiarity with criminal recidivism and responses to Likert scale questions as well as between responses to different Likert scale questions. For example, cross-tabulations performed for responses to “How familiar are you with the concept of criminal recidivism?” and “To what extent do you believe individuals living in urban areas are more likely to re-offend because of negative peer or community influence?” allowed the researcher to see whether level of familiarity with criminal recidivism was related to whether respondents strongly disagreed, disagreed, remained neutral, agreed, or strongly agreed to the statement as well as what percentage of each level of familiarity responded in these ways. Similarly, cross-tabulations were performed for responses to “To what extent do you believe individuals living in urban areas are more likely to re-offend because of negative peer or community influence?” and “How effective do you believe a reentry program that helps offenders with job applications, financial aid, housing, and education services is at reducing recidivism?” which allowed the researcher to see the whether the number and percentage of responses to the question about geographic location were related to the number and percentage of responses to the question about an external solution to recidivism.. Next, these bi-variate cross-tabulation charts were then converted to bar graphs with error bars to indicate 95% confidence intervals. Additionally, Chi-Square Independence Tests were performed on the same data derived from the cross-tabulations in order to help the researcher understand whether the two variables being tested were dependent upon one another or independent from one another. In utilizing Chi-Square Independence Tests, the researcher determined the expected counts for each cross-tabulation as well as the p-values for each. The null hypothesis for each of these variables states that there is no relationship between responses for differing questions. For example, the null hypothesis for level of familiarity and negative peer and community influence states that there is no relationship between level of familiarity with the concept of criminal recidivism and responses to the question of “To what extent do you believe individuals living in urban areas are more likely to re-offend because of negative peer or community influence?” Finally, p-values greater than 0.05 led the researcher to fail to reject the null hypothesis, while p-values less than or equal to 0.05 led the researcher to reject the null hypothesis and determine that there is some sort of relationship between the two variables. Results Level of Familiarity as a Predictor of Extent of Agreement In assessing whether there was a relationship in this study between level of familiarity with the concept of criminal recidivism and extent of agreement that either internal or external sources cause recidivism, bi-variate cross-tabulations were completed and Chi-Square Independence Tests were run. When “How familiar are you with the concept of criminal recidivism” and “To what extent do you believe individuals of certain racial groups are more likely to re-offend because of their biological make-up?” were placed into cross-tabulations, it seemed as though, opposite to what was hypothesized, that the majority of respondents not at all familiar (50 percent), somewhat familiar (42.55 percent), and very familiar (77.78 percent) with the concept of criminal recidivism all strongly disagreed that individuals of certain races are biologically predisposed to recidivism (see Table 1). On the other hand, when “How familiar are you with the concept of criminal recidivism” and “To what extent do you believe individuals with mental illness are more likely to re-offend because of their biological make-up?” were placed into cross-tabulations, the majority of respondents not at all familiar (37.5 percent) and somewhat familiar (36.17 percent) with recidivism agreed that individuals with mental illness are biologically predisposed to re-offend, whereas the majority of respondents very familiar (38.89 percent) with recidivism remained neutral for this question (see Table 2). It is important to note that there is a disparity in


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number of respondents between very familiar and the other two categories, who are larger than very familiar and much more similar in size, thus leaving room for error that can be observed in Charts 1 and 2. However, in both of these cases, Chi-Square Tests revealed that p-values were equal to 0.175 and 0.265, respectively, leaving the researcher unable to reject the null hypothesis that there is no relationship between these variables. Level of familiarity with criminal recidivism and extent of agreement that external factors lead to recidivism were also tested. When “How familiar are you with the concept of criminal recidivism” and “To what extent do you believe individuals living in urban areas are more likely to re-offend because of negative peer or community influence?” were placed into cross-tabulations, it seemed as though the majority of respondents not at all familiar (42.5 percent) and somewhat familiar (55.32 percent) with recidivism, opposite to the researcher’s predictions, agreed that negative peer and community influence in urban locations causes individuals living in these areas to recidivate, whereas the majority of respondents very familiar (44.44 percent) with recidivism strongly agreed with the same statement (see Table 3). Similarly, when “How familiar are you with the concept of criminal recidivism” and “To what extent do you believe poorer people are more likely to re-offend because they lack the means necessary to contribute to the economy in law-abiding ways?” were placed into cross-tabulations, the majority of respondents not at all familiar (40 percent) and somewhat familiar (40.43 percent) with recidivism agreed that the difficulties associated with lower socioeconomic status lead individuals to recidivate, whereas the majority of respondents very familiar (50 percent) with recidivism strongly agreed with the same statement (see Table 4). Again, it is important to note that there is a disparity in number of respondents between very familiar and the other two categories, who are larger than very familiar and much more similar in size, thus leaving room for error that can be observed in Charts 3 and 4. However, again, in both of these cases, Chi-Square Tests revealed that p-values were equal to 0.460 and 0.513, respectively, leaving the researcher unable to reject the null hypothesis that there is no relationship between these variables. Extent of Agreement as a Predictor of Extent of Agreement In assessing whether there was a relationship in this study between responses to different questions regarding extent of agreement that either internal or external sources cause recidivism, bi-variate cross-tabulations were completed and Chi-Square Independence Tests were run. For example, responses to “To what extent do you believe individuals living in urban areas are more likely to re-offend because of negative peer or community influence?” and “To what extent do you believe poorer people are more likely to re-offend because they lack the means necessary to contribute to the economy in law-abiding ways?” were tested to see whether respondents remained consistent in their answers to these questions regarding external causes of recidivism. When placed into cross-tabulations, it seemed as though the majority of respondents who agreed (46 percent) that difficulties associated with urban living are responsible for recidivism also agreed that the difficulties associated with lower socioeconomic status lead individuals to recidivate. Similarly, the majority of respondents who strongly agreed (57.14 percent) that difficulties associated with urban living are responsible for recidivism also strongly agreed that the difficulties associated with lower socioeconomic status lead individuals to recidivate (see Table 5). However, the majority of individuals who remained neutral (44.44 percent) and disagreed (37.5 percent) that difficulties associated with urban living are responsible for recidivism tended to agree that the difficulties associated with lower socioeconomic status lead individuals to recidivate, though these categories were relatively small when compared to the agree and strongly agree categories, thus leaving room for error that can be observed in Chart 5. When the Chi-Square Independence Test was run on these two variables, the p-value was revealed to be equal to 0.0093, allowing the researcher to reject the null hypothesis and determine that there is some relationship between these variables.


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Additionally, responses to “To what extent do you believe individuals of certain racial groups are more likely to re-offend because of their biological make-up?” and “To what extent do you believe individuals with mental illness are more likely to re-offend because of their biological make-up?” were tested to see whether respondents remained consistent in their answers to these questions regarding internal causes of recidivism. When placed into cross-tabulations, it seemed as though the majority of respondents who strongly disagreed (33.33 percent) that certain racial groups are biologically predisposed to recidivism also strongly disagreed that individuals with mental illness are biologically predisposed to recidivism. However, individuals who disagreed (41.18 percent) and remained neutral (58.33 percent) that certain racial groups are biologically predisposed to recidivism tended to agree that individuals with mental illness are biologically predisposed to recidivism (see Table 6). It is important to note that the categories for neutral, agree, and strongly agree were relatively small in comparison to the categories of strongly disagree and disagree, thus leaving room for error that can be observed in Chart 6. When the Chi-Square Independence Test was run on these two variables, the p-value was revealed to be equal to 0.031, allowing the researcher to reject the null hypothesis and determine that there is some relationship between these variables. Finally, responses to “To what extent do you believe individuals living in urban areas are more likely to re-offend because of negative peer or community influence?” and “To what extent do you believe individuals of certain racial groups are more likely to re-offend because of their biological make-up?” were tested to see whether respondents remained consistent in their attribution of the causes of recidivism across questions regarding both internal and external causes. When placed into cross-tabulations, it seemed as though the majority of respondents who strongly agreed (64.29 percent) that difficulties associated with urban living are responsible for recidivism tended to strongly disagree that certain racial groups are biologically predisposed to recidivism. Similarly, the majority of respondents who agreed (40 percent) and remained neutral (72.22 percent) that difficulties associated with urban living are responsible for recidivism tended to strongly disagree that certain racial groups are biologically predisposed to recidivism (see Table 7). However, it is important to note that the categories for neutral, disagree, and strongly disagree were relatively small in comparison to the categories of strongly agree and agree, thus leaving room for error that be observed in Chart 7. When the Chi-Square Independence Test was run on these two variables, the p-value was revealed to be equal to 0.114, leaving the researcher unable to reject the null hypothesis that there is no relationship between these variables. Extent of Agreement as a Predictor of Degree of Effectiveness In assessing whether there was a relationship in this study between extent of agreement that either internal or external forces are responsible for recidivism and degree of effectiveness of solutions to both internal and external causes of recidivism, bi-variate cross-tabulations were completed and Chi-Square Independence Tests were run. For example, responses to “To what extent do you believe individuals living in urban areas are more likely to re-offend because of negative peer or community influence?” and “How effective do you believe cognitive behavioral therapy designed to teach offenders how their actions led to incarceration and how to develop alternative behaviors and thought processes is at reducing recidivism?” were tested to see whether respondents remained consistent in their attributions of the causes of recidivism across questions regarding solutions to both internal and external causes. When placed into cross-tabulations, it seemed as though the majority of respondents who strongly agreed (39.29 percent) and remained neutral (50 percent) that difficulties associated with urban living are responsible for recidivism tended to believe that cognitive behavioral therapy would be very effective at reducing recidivism. However, the majority of respondents who agreed (46 percent) that difficulties associated with urban living are responsible for recidivism tended to believe that cognitive behavioral therapy would only be somewhat effective at reducing recidivism (see Table 8). However, it is important


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to note that the categories for neutral, disagree, and strongly disagree were relatively small in comparison to the categories of strongly agree and agree, thus leaving room for error that be observed in Chart 8. When the Chi-Square Independence Test was run on these two variables, the p-value was revealed to be equal to 1.44x10-219, allowing the researcher to reject the null hypothesis and determine that there is some relationship between these variables. Similarly, responses to “To what extent do you believe individuals living in urban areas are more likely to re-offend because of negative peer or community influence?” and “How effective do you believe a reentry program that helps offenders with job applications, financial aid, housing, and education services is at reducing recidivism?” were tested to see whether respondents remained consistent in their attributions of the causes of recidivism across questions regarding solutions to both internal and external causes. When placed into cross-tabulations, it seemed as though the majority of respondents who strongly agreed (53.57 percent) that difficulties associated with urban living are responsible for recidivism tended to believe that a reentry program would be extremely effective at reducing recidivism. Similarly, the majority of respondents who agreed (44 percent) and remained neutral (38.39 percent) that difficulties associated with urban living are responsible for recidivism tended to believe that a reentry program would be very effective at reducing recidivism (see Table 9). Again, it is important to note that the categories for neutral, disagree, and strongly disagree were relatively small in comparison to the categories of strongly agree and agree, thus leaving room for error that be observed in Chart 9. When the Chi-Square Independence Test was run on these two variables, the p-value was revealed to be equal to 0.193, leaving the researcher unable to reject the null hypothesis that there is no relationship between these variables. Additionally, responses to “To what extent do you believe individuals of certain racial groups are more likely to re-offend because of their biological make-up?” and “How effective do you believe cognitive behavioral therapy designed to teach offenders how their actions led to incarceration and how to develop alternative behaviors and thought processes is at reducing recidivism?” were tested to see whether respondents remained consistent in their attributions of the causes of recidivism across questions regarding solutions to both internal and external causes. When placed into cross-tabulations, it seemed as though the majority of respondents who strongly disagreed (37.04 percent) and disagreed (38.24 percent) that certain racial groups are biologically predisposed to recidivism tended to believe that cognitive behavioral therapy would only be somewhat effective at reducing recidivism (see Table 10). It is important to note for this cross-tabulation as well that the categories for neutral, agree, and strongly agree were relatively small in comparison to the categories of strongly disagree and disagree, thus leaving room for error that be observed in Chart 10. When the Chi-Square Independence Test was run on these two variables, the p-value was revealed to be equal to 0.625, leaving the researcher unable to reject the null hypothesis that there is no relationship between these variables. Finally, responses to “To what extent do you believe individuals of certain racial groups are more likely to re-offend because of their biological make-up?” and “How effective do you believe a reentry program that helps offenders with job applications, financial aid, housing, and education services is at reducing recidivism?” were tested to see whether respondents remained consistent in their attributions of the causes of recidivism across questions regarding solutions to both internal and external causes. When placed into cross-tabulations, it seemed as though the majority of respondents who strongly disagreed (48.15 percent) and remained neutral (58.33 percent) that certain racial groups are biologically predisposed to recidivism tended to believe that a reentry program would be extremely effective at reducing recidivism. Similarly, the majority of respondents who disagreed (47.06 percent) that certain racial groups are biologically predisposed to recidivism tended to believe that a reentry program would be very effective at reducing recidivism (see Table 11). Again, it is important to note for this cross-tabulation as well that the categories for neutral, agree, and strongly agree were relatively small in comparison to


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the categories of strongly disagree and disagree, thus leaving room for error that be observed in Chart 10. When the Chi-Square Independence Test was run on these two variables, the p-value was revealed to be equal to 0.641, leaving the researcher unable to reject the null hypothesis that there is no relationship between these variables. Discussion This research examined how Christopher Newport University student perceptions on criminal recidivism and their attributions of the causes of this issue were influenced by their status as outsiders to the criminal justice system. The findings of this project reveal the lack of a significant relationship between level of familiarity with the concept of criminal recidivism and attributions of the causes of recidivism as well as between attributions of the causes of recidivism and beliefs about the effectiveness of both internal and external solutions. However, it is interesting to note that, contrary to findings in Sanderson et al.’s (2000) study, the majority of respondents seemed to attribute the causes of recidivism more often to the external forces surrounding offenders, rather than their internal dispositions. Sanderson et al. found that respondents to their survey tended to perceive offenders as dangerous individuals, attributing their behavior to their internal dispositions. Additionally, this finding is contrary to the hypothesis of this study, which stated that outsiders to the criminal justice system, because of their lack of personal exposure to the issue of recidivism, will likely attribute the causes and characteristics of recidivism to the internal forces at play within the recidivists themselves. The choice to attribute the causes of recidivism to the external forces surrounding offenders could be explained in a couple of ways. First, when viewed from many different perspectives, the majority of respondents seemed unlikely to indicate that certain races are biologically predisposed to recidivism. This finding could be a result of society’s higher alertness to the social injustices present against individuals of certain races, leading respondents to state that the biology of certain races does not make them more likely to recidivate than other races. Second, the majority of respondents seemed likely to believe that external factors, like negative peer or community influence or lacking the means to contribute to the economy in a lawabiding manner, are responsible for recidivism. This finding could be a result of the fact that these survey respondents are receiving a higher education that may allow them to view this issue from a more informed perspective. They may be more likely to understand the complexities associated with living in certain geographic locations or lower socioeconomic status, which may allow them to see past the more superficial internal characteristics of these individuals, thus associating recidivism with external forces resulting from lower socioeconomic status or living in more urban areas, for example. The only time respondents did not seem to attribute the causes of recidivism overwhelmingly to external forces was for the question, “To what extent do you believe individuals with mental illness are more likely to re-offend because of their biological makeup?” Mental illness is particularly tricky in regards to criminal recidivism because it is one of the very few categories in which recidivism can occur as a result of both internal and external factors (Peterson et al. 2014). At first glance, to someone with little to no knowledge about the concept of criminal recidivism, mental illness and biology are intertwined and, thus, mentally ill individuals cannot help but to recidivate as a result of their biological make-up. However, to someone with extensive knowledge about the topic, more external issues, like lack of treatment available and ineffective police training, are likely to be more responsible for recidivism for these individuals. On the other hand, there are some individuals whose mental illnesses may cause them to be violent or uncontrollable, which may lead them to recidivate (Peterson et al. 2014). These explanations could likely indicate why many students lacking knowledge on the concept agreed that individuals with mental illness recidivated as a result of their biological make-up and why many with extensive knowledge remained neutral for this same statement.


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Though the majority of findings for this study revealed no significant relationship between variables, several significant relationships were found when analyzing whether responses attributing the causes of recidivism remained consistent across multiple categories of questioning. First, a significant relationship was found between the variables associated with “To what extent do you believe individuals living in urban areas are more likely to re-offend because of negative peer or community influence?” and “How effective do you believe cognitive behavioral therapy designed to teach offenders how their actions led to incarceration and how to develop alternative behaviors and thought processes is at reducing recidivism?” Again, the majority of respondents who agreed that the difficulties associated with urban living are responsible for recidivism tended to believe that cognitive behavioral therapy, a solution tackling the internal dispositions of offenders, would only be somewhat effective at reducing recidivism. This finding is similar to the findings of previous studies on the causes of recidivism that determined that even the offenders themselves believe external factors are largely responsible for their recidivism and that solutions tackling external issues help them to successfully reenter society (Davis et al. 2012; Halsey 2007). Because the p-value for these variables was less than 0.05, the researcher determined that there is some significant relationship between these variables. Though there was no significant relationship between urban living and external solutions to recidivism, it is interesting to note that the same respondents who agreed that the difficulties associated with urban living lead to recidivism also tended to believe that a reentry program, a solution tackling the external problems offenders face, would be extremely effective at reducing recidivism, again reflecting previous research on the topic (Davis et al. 2012; Halsey 2007). Here, it seems as though respondents who attribute the causes of recidivism to the external forces surrounding offenders are unlikely to believe that solutions tackling the internal dispositions offenders are more effective at reducing recidivism than solutions tackling the external issues surrounding these offenders. Second, a significant relationship was found between the variables associated with “To what extent do you believe individuals living in urban areas are more likely to re-offend because of negative peer or community influence?” and “To what extent do you believe poorer people are more likely to re-offend because they lack the means necessary to contribute to the economy in law-abiding ways?” Again, the majority of respondents who agreed that the difficulties associated with urban living lead to recidivism also tended to agree that difficulties associated with lower socioeconomic status lead individuals to recidivate. This finding reflects the findings of previous studies on the causes of recidivism that highlight living in urban areas in close proximity to the negative influence of others and having economic struggles as major causes of recidivism (Berg and Huebner 2011; Wang et al. 2014) Because the p-value for these variables was less than 0.05, the researcher determined that there is some significant relationship between these variables. Here, it seems as though attributions of the causes of recidivism remain consistent across different external factors, with respondents remaining likely to agree that differing external factors can all lead to recidivism, contrary to previous scholarly research on public perception of criminal recidivism (Sanderson et al. 2000). Lastly, again contrary to the findings in Sanderson et al.’s (2000) study on the attributions of criminal recidivism, a significant relationship was found between the variables associated with “To what extent do you believe individuals of certain racial groups are more likely to re-offend because of their biological make-up?” and “To what extent do you believe individuals with mental illness are more likely to re-offend because of their biological make-up?” The majority of respondents who strongly disagreed that certain racial groups are biologically predisposed to recidivism also tended to strongly disagree that individuals with mental illness are biologically predisposed to recidivism. Again, this finding seems to reflect Davis et al.’s (2012) and Halsey’s (2007) findings in their studies that the internal dispositions of offenders do not play as large of a role in recidivism as the external factors surrounding offenders. Because


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the p-value for these variables was less than 0.05, the researcher determined that there is some significant relationship between these variables. Here, it seems as though the lack of attributions of the causes of recidivism to the internal dispositions of offenders remain consistent across different internal factors, with respondents remaining likely to disagree that internal dispositions lead to recidivism. In essence, it seems that level of familiarity, at least in this project, has no significant relationship to whether Christopher Newport University students attribute the causes of recidivism to internal or external forces. Similarly, Christopher Newport University students’ attributions of the causes of recidivism also did not have a significant relationship in regards to their belief about the effectiveness of certain solutions to recidivism, which were broken down by whether the solutions dealt with the internal dispositions of offenders or the external forces surrounding offenders. However, it is important to acknowledge that a significant relationship was found between Christopher Newport University students who attributed the causes of recidivism to the external factor of negative peer or community influence and were unlikely to agree that cognitive behavioral therapy would be an extremely effective way of reducing recidivism. Additionally, significant relationships were found between questions dealing with attributions of criminal recidivism, indicating that Christopher Newport University students who agreed that external factors are largely responsible for recidivism were likely to also agree when asked about external factors from a multitude of categories. Similarly, Christopher Newport University students who disagreed that internal factors are largely responsible for recidivism were likely to also disagree when asked about internal factors from multiple categories. However, it is also important to reiterate that this study has limitations. The convenience sampling method used in this study allows for increased sampling error and selection bias, and the smaller sample size itself as well as the slight skew in gender also prevent the findings from being fully reliable as well as generalizable to the general public. Additionally, the shortened time frame allotted for the completion of this project hindered the researcher’s ability to fully review the project with other researchers or perform data triangulation to prevent error or bias and increase validity and reliability. In any case, it seems as though Christopher Newport students, at least in this study, regardless of their level of familiarity with the concept of criminal recidivism, were able to accurately attribute the cause of recidivism to the external forces surrounding offenders as identified by previous literature on the subject (Berg and Huebner 2011; Davis et al. 2012; Halsey 2007; Wang et al. 2014). Theory This research project is very much influenced by the positivist paradigm of sociology, which posits that the answers to questions about society’s functioning can be revealed through the use of scientific or statistical evidence (Babbie 2013). Specifically, this research project uses Fritz Heider’s attribution theory to generate a broader understanding of public perception on criminal recidivism. Fritz Heider developed his more abstract version of this social psychology theory in the early twentieth century, though it was later expanded upon and made less abstract by a multitude of scholars, whose collections of theories address complementary problems and share common assumptions based off Heider’s original work (Crittenden 1983). In his original work, The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations, Heider (1958) notes that, since the beginning of time, man has always been innately curious about human relations, which can be observed in the ways that writers and storytellers have often given inhuman objects and beings human-like qualities that allow them to interact and have interpersonal relationships with each other. These interpersonal relationships allow one to perceive another’s thoughts and feelings and predict how another will think or act (Heider 1958). Understanding how these interpersonal relationships work was very important to Heider, because previous to his discussion on the topic, very little literature and research had


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been proposed surrounding interpersonal relations, though the intuitive ability of humans to understand interpersonal relations had been around since the beginning of humankind. As a result of this lack of scholarly discussion, Heider (1958) developed a conceptual framework, which is better known today as attribution theory, to help explain how humans interact with each other and what these interpersonal relations allow for humans to understand about one another. Heider’s version of attribution theory describes attribution as a “process that begins with social perception, progresses through causal judgment and social inference, and ends with behavioral consequences” (Crittenden 1983: 426). Heider believed that the ordinary person seeks to understand human relations because they are motivated by their need to “stabilize and simplify the environment, to comprehend, predict, and control the behavior of others” (Crittenden 1983: 426-427). Thus, in essence, attribution theory examines the way a social perceiver uses information gathered about another individual to form a causal judgement about that individual and make inferences about their behavior in order to be able comprehend the environment and others. Additionally, Heider’s attribution theory posits that the social perceiver can assign the causes of certain behavior to either the internal characteristics, or disposition, of an individual or to the external, or situational, forces surrounding that individual (Crittenden 1983). As a result, the social perceiver has the ability to make inferences or predictions about another individual’s behavior. In 1976, in expanding upon Heider’s version of attribution theory to better understand how a social perceiver makes inferences about the actions of others, scholars Edward Jones and Keith Davis (1976) identified the correspondent inference. Their correspondent inference theory states that the social perceiver makes inferences about another individual through “analysis of the effects of intentional behavior,” which can be inferred through the individual’s particular intentions and dispositions (Crittenden 1983: 427). Thus, when a social perceiver’s inference is correspondent, the individual being observed has a disposition that is directly reflected in their behavior (Jones and Davis 1976). This theory, however, has flaws, which can be seen in cases where the social perceiver describes an individual’s disposition in terms of his or her behavior, even when this behavior can be entirely explain by the situation in which it occurs (Crittenden 1983). That is, the social perceiver discounts other possible reasons for action, instead biasedly inferring that action corresponds to the particular intention, or disposition, of an individual. Unfortunately, oftentimes the attributions and inferences a social perceiver makes can be inaccurate and blind the social perceiver as to the true causes of an individual’s behavior. To combat this common inaccuracy among social perceivers, scholar Harold Kelley (1967) developed a version of attribution theory that addresses the role of the environment in influencing an individual’s behavior. The social perceiver in Kelley’s theory rules out personal dispositions and makes inferences about an individual’s future behavior based on multiple observations of their behavior directed toward a specific stimulus in the environment (Crittenden 1983). These multiple observations determine the distinctiveness of the stimulus (whether other stimuli fail to elicit the same responses), the consensus on the stimulus (whether other individuals react the same way to the stimulus), the consistency of reaction to the stimulus over time (whether the stimulus elicits the same response from the individual each time it encounters the stimulus), and consistency over modality (whether the stimulus elicits the same response from an individual in varying interactions). According to Kelley (1967), behavior is attributable to a personal disposition when the social perceiver observes a pattern of low distinctiveness, low consensus, and high consistency. On the other hand, behavior is attributable to situational factors when the social perceiver observes a pattern of high distinctiveness, low consensus, and low consistency. Thus, what Kelley (1967) calls the discounting principle is in effect when a social perceiver becomes aware of several plausible causes for behavior. Essentially, this greater awareness the social perceiver has of his or her own environment makes it less likely that the he or she will develop a correspondent inference, since other plausible causes resulting from


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the environment are present. Essentially, attribution theory deals with the ways in which a social perceiver comes to understand the behavior of others, and thus, can make inferences, or predictions, about how they will act in the future. The distinction between internal and external causes of behavior is very much present in the discussion of this particular theory as well as other similar theories. Around the same point in time that Heider developed his framework for understanding interpersonal relations, sociologist C. Wright Mills (1959) developed what he called the sociological imagination to describe the relevance of sociology in the everyday lives of ordinary individuals. This sociological imagination theory essentially posits that ordinary individuals create their own social outcomes by interacting with society in some way. Similar to attribution theory’s discussion the of internal and external causes of behavior, Mills (1959) describes social action of individuals as resulting from the situations in which they find themselves, their internal, personal dispositions or motives, or their interactions with others. Clearly, understanding what leads to behavior is at the heart of comprehending interpersonal relations, and both internal and external factors likely play a role in causing the actions that allow social perceivers to infer future action. In this paper, attribution theory, and its resulting concepts of correspondent inference and the discounting principle, are being used to create a broader understanding of public perception on criminal recidivism in regards to what has been described in this paper as the “truth” about its causes. In terms of this project, it is expected that most people, regardless of whether they are outsiders or insiders to the criminal justice system, use the information by which they are surrounded to make judgements about recidivists as well as the specific causes of recidivism in order to make sense of this issue. Specifically, attribution theory is being used to better understand whether Christopher Newport University students’ attributions of criminal recidivists and recidivism allow them to make accurate inferences as to the true causes of the issue, which were defined previously in this paper as external, environmental factors, like a lack of opportunity based on economic struggles or poor education, difficulty obtaining housing or employment upon release due to societal stigma, and trouble resulting from returning to negative familial and community influences. Based on the analysis of the data, it seems that the majority of respondents to the survey were unlikely to attribute the causes of recidivism to the internal characteristics, or disposition, of the offenders in the form of biological make-up, except when mental illness was involved. When it comes to the biological make-up of individuals of certain races, it seems as though Christopher Newport University students are able to accurately infer that the causes of recidivism do not overwhelmingly stem from the dispositions of certain groups of individuals. However, in contrast to racial biological make-up, when it comes to mental illness, Christopher Newport University students seem to be less accurate in their inferences about the causes of recidivism for mentally ill individuals, attributing these causes to solely dispositional factors, and like the correspondent inference, failing to take into account the role the environment plays in leading these individuals to recidivate. Additionally, it seems as though a majority of respondents were likely to attribute the causes of recidivism to the external factors surrounding offenders, like negative peer or community influence and lack of means necessary to contribute to the economy in a law-abiding way. Again, it seems as though Christopher Newport University students accurately infer that the causes of recidivism stem more from environmental and situational factors than the internal dispositions of offenders. It could be possible that, for both of these questions, these respondents, like the discounting principle states, have a greater awareness of the external forces surrounding offenders, possibly resulting from their status as undergraduate students, and thus, are aware of plausible causes that arise from the environment and lead offenders to recidivate. In any case, the goal of this research project was to better understand how the perceptions of Christopher Newport University students on criminal recidivism are shaped by their status as


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outsiders to the criminal justice system. The main hypothesis of this project stated that outsiders to the criminal justice system, who have not been personally exposed to the issue of recidivism, will likely attribute the causes and characteristics of recidivism to the internal forces at play within recidivists, as a result of the correspondent inference and the prevalence of inaccuracies in inferring behavior. However, data analysis seems to show that Christopher Newport University students are largely accurate in their attributions and inferences of the causes of recidivism. The respondents seemed to be able to understand that external factors, like negative peer or community influence and lack of means necessary to contribute to the economy in a law-abiding way are more responsible for criminal recidivism than biological, internal dispositions. In contrast to the hypothesis of this project, respondents tended to believe that repeated criminal offending was less related to the internal dispositions of recidivists and more a result of external pressures surrounding recidivists, indicating that the correspondent inference did not play a large role in the attributions of these students. Additionally, the discounting principle likely played a role in the attributions provided by these respondents, who are generally accurate in their attributions of recidivism and are usually successfully able to infer that the behavior of criminal offenders largely results from environmental and situational causes, rather than internal dispositions. In conclusion, Christopher Newport University students tend to be accurate in their attributions of criminal recidivism, rejecting the correspondent inference and utilizing the discounting principle to determine that external factors play a larger role in criminal recidivism than the internal dispositions of offenders. Conclusion In attempting to research the topic of public perception of criminal recidivism, the researcher was interested in uncovering how individuals use the information they have gather about offenders to make judgements about the causes of recidivism and whether these individuals identify these causes as being related to the internal characteristics of offenders or the external forces that surround these offenders. The hypothesis of this study stated that Christopher Newport University students, because of their status as outsiders to the criminal justice system who lack personal exposure to the issue of recidivism, will likely attribute the causes and characteristics of recidivism to the internal dispositions of offenders, rather than the external forces that play a larger role in recidivism. Firstly, in the case of this research project, respondents to the survey seemed largely able to accurately attribute the causes of recidivism to external forces, rather than internal dispositions, and were able to identify that solutions tackling these external factors tend to be more effective at reducing recidivism than solutions dealing with the internal dispositions of offenders, thus proving the hypothesis of this study inaccurate. Additionally, Christopher Newport University students’ level of familiarity with the concept of criminal recidivism, which demonstrated their outsider status, did not show any significant relationship to the other variables at play in this project. Thus, it is difficult to determine whether one’s status as an outsider to the criminal justice system plays any role in whether one attributes the causes of recidivism to the internal dispositions or external forces associated with criminal offending. However, it could be the case that, because Christopher Newport University students are receiving a higher level of education, they have a greater understanding of the complexities associated with offender reintegration into society and are more aware of the social injustices vulnerable populations face, leading them to attribute the causes of recidivism to external factors. While level of familiarity may not show a significant relationship to attributions of the causes of recidivism in this study, it still may play a role in the attributions of other populations of individuals in the general public who are not as well educated, though this can only be determined by future research. As described previously, the demographic breakdown of respondents to this survey closely resembles the demographic breakdown of Christopher Newport University as a whole, though gender is slightly skewed toward female in the survey and the sample size is relatively


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small. Regardless, it seems as though the findings of this survey could be generalized to the general population of Christopher Newport University as well as the general population of other demographically similar universities. The findings in this survey could likely be generalized to the larger population of these universities, perhaps because of their similar status as undergraduate students, which may allow them to critically think about the effect of social injustice on vulnerable populations and how external factors likely play a large role in recidivism. Similarly, because the majority of Christopher Newport University students find themselves in the upper-middle class income bracket, the results of this study could possibly be generalized to the population of individuals in this income bracket, who are also likely to be outsiders to the criminal justice system, indicating that these individuals also believe that external factors play a larger role in criminal recidivism than internal dispositions. However, future research on this groups of individuals is needed in order to fully understand the generalizability of the results of this study to individuals in the upper-middle class. It is very important that the topic of criminal recidivism is discussed and better understood. Christopher Newport University students, like the majority of the general population, are likely to affect the criminal justice system in some way throughout their lifetime, whether that be as a policymaker, a voter, a juror, or even an employee of the criminal justice system. Thus, as individuals who may one day affect change surrounding the issue of criminal recidivism, it is important to understand how the public attributes the causes of recidivism and whether these attributes reflect the “true” causes of this issue. The major implications of this research are twofold. Individuals who, without proper knowledge on the subject, attribute the causes of recidivism to the internal dispositions of offenders perpetuate the public’s pre-established stigma against certain groups of people in the criminal justice system, which makes it more difficult for offenders to reenter these communities that likely believe them to be criminal people by nature. Similarly, if individuals, like policymakers, who control how the criminal justice system is run, attribute the causes of recidivism to internal characteristics, they are likely to overlook external forces that may be responsible for recidivism, and their policies to reduce recidivism may not target the proper issues. Luckily, the findings of this research project seem to imply that Christopher Newport University students and students at other universities similar to Christopher Newport University attribute the causes of recidivism more often to the external factors of recidivism, rather than internal dispositions of offenders. If accuracy in attributions is truly a result of education level and those with a higher level of education are better able to understand the complexities associated with criminal recidivism, then it could be the case that policymakers or employees of the criminal justice system with higher levels of education are better prepared to make effective decisions regarding recidivism than those with lower levels of education. Similarly, members of the public with higher levels of education may create less stigma surrounding offender reentry, though the communities that offenders are most likely to return to may be characterized by lower levels of education and, thus, more stigmatization. However, increasing the public’s awareness of the “truth” about the causes of recidivism is likely to allow for improvements, like decreased stigmatization and better policy in the criminal justice system and beyond, that may lead to a reduction in criminal recidivism as a whole. In any case, while this research project may help to increase awareness on this topic, future research must be completed in order to fully understand the public’s attributions of the causes of criminal recidivism and whether outsider status plays any role in these attributions. As a result of the shortened time frame of this project and the researcher’s inability, during the data analysis portion of the project, to physically meet with other scholars and learn complex statistical analysis, the researcher was only able to perform bivariate cross-tabulations and Chi-Square Independence Tests as well as produce bar graphs with error bars. Future research should analyze data in more robust ways, like through bivariate regressions or t-tests, in order to gain a fuller comprehension of what the data says about attributions of criminal recidivism


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and how these attributions shape understandings of current policy on the issue or solutions tackling the issue. Additionally, future research should attempt to analyze this issue with a larger, more randomized sample that is more representative of the general population or the population being studied. Analyzing a randomized, demographically representative sample would help to bolster the reliability, generalizability, and validity of information gathered on this topic. Future research should also further investigate whether there is a relationship between level of familiarity with criminal recidivism and the attributions of the causes of recidivism to definitively determine whether level of familiarity with criminal recidivism has any effect on attributions. Similarly, future research should attempt to uncover the nature of the significant relationships found between variables in this study in order to better understand what exactly these relationships are and what they mean in regards to attributions of criminal recidivism. Finally, future research should extend its focus to populations other than university students, like differing income brackets of differing levels of education. This may help to provide a better understanding on whether outsider status or education level plays a role in attributing the causes of recidivism. However, until the public is educated on the issue of criminal recidivism as well as the true nature of its causes, significant policy changes and decreased stigmatization will not occur, thus perpetuating the cycle of release and reincarceration for criminal offenders.


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References Babbie, Earl R. 2013. The Practice of Social Research. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Bales, William D. and Piquero, Alex R. 2012. “Assessing the Impact of Imprisonment on Recidivism.” Journal of Experimental Criminology 8(1):71-101. Berg, Mark T. and Huebner, Beth M. 2011. “Reentry and the Ties that Bind: An Examination of Social Ties, Employment, and Recidivism.” Justice Quarterly 28(2):382-410. Bridges, George S. and Steen, Sara. 1998. “Racial Disparities in Official Assessments of Juvenile Offenders: Attributed Stereotypes as Mediating Mechanisms.” American Sociological Review 63(4):554-570. Buchanan, Larry, Aisch, Gregor, Cox, Amanda, and Quealy, Kevin. 2017. “Economic Diversity and Student Outcomes at Christopher Newport University.” The New York Times, January 18 (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobility/christophernewport-university). Christopher Newport University. 2020. “Diversity Statistics.” Retrieved April 23, 2020 (https:// cnu.edu/life/diversity/statistics/). Crittenden, Kathleen S. 1983. “Sociological Aspects of Attribution.” Annual Review of Sociology 9(1):425-446. Davis, Celeste, Bahr, Stephen J. and Ward, Carol. 2012. “The Process of Offender Reintegration: Perceptions of What Helps Prisoners Reenter Society.” Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice 13(4):446-469. Equal Justice Initiative. 2019. “Half of Americans Have Family Members Who Have Been Incarcerated.” Retrieved April 23, 2020 (https://eji.org/news/half-of-americans-havefamily-members-who-have-been-incarcerated/). Halsey, Mark. 2007. “Assembling Recidivism: The Promise and Contingencies of Post-release Life.” The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 97(4):1209–1260. Heider, Fritz. 1958. The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations. New York: Wiley. Huebner, Beth M. and Berg, Mark T. 2011. “Examining the Sources of Variation in Risk for Recidivism.” Justice Quarterly 28(1):146-173. Huebner, Beth M., Varano, Sean P. and Bynum, Timothy S. 2007. “Gangs, Guns, and Drugs: Recidivism Among Serious, Young Offenders.” Criminology and Public Policy 6(2):187222. Iudici, Antonio, Boccato, Fela and Faccio, Elena. 2018. “Perspectives on Reoffenders: The Views of Detainees, the General Public and People Working with Offenders.” International Journal for Crime, Justice, and Social Democracy 7(1):60-75. Jones, Edward E. and Davis, Keith E. 1965. “From Acts to Dispositions: The Attribution Process in Person Perception.” Pp. 219-266 in Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, edited by L. Berkowitz. New York: Academic Press. Kelley, Harold H. 1967. “Attribution Theory in Social Psychology.” Pp. 192-238 in Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, edited by D. Levine. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. Mandel, Nathan G., Collins, Beverly S., Moran, Mark R., Barron, Alfred J., Gelbmann, Frederick J., Gadbois, Charles B. and Kaminstein, Philip. 1965. “Recidivism Studied and Defined.” Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science 56(1):59–66. Markman, Joshua A., Durose, Matthew R., Rantala, Ramona R. and Tiedt, Andrew D. 2016. Recidivism of Offenders Placed on Federal Community Supervision in 2005: Patterns from 2005 to 2010. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved April 23, 2020 (https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/media/publications/ Recidivism%20of%20Offenders%20Placed%20on%20Federal%20Community%20 Supervision%20in%202005%20-%20Patterns%20from%202005%20to%20 2010%2C%20DOJ%20BJS%2C%202016.pdf )


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Mills, Charles W. 1959. The Sociological Imagination. New York: Oxford University Press. National Institute of Justice. 2016. “Five Things About Deterrence.” Retrieved April 23, 2020 (https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/five-things-about-deterrence). Pearson, Frank S., Lipton, Douglas S., Cleland, Charles M. and Yee, Dorline S. 2002. “The Effects of Behavioral/Cognitive-Behavioral Programs on Recidivism.” Crime and Delinquency 48(3):476-496. Peterson, Jillian K., Skeem, Jennifer, Kennealy, Patrick, Bray, Beth and Zvonkovic, Andrea. 2014. “How Often and How Consistently do Symptoms Directly Precede Criminal Behavior Among Offenders with Mental Illness?” Law and Human Behavior 38(5):439-449. Pew Charitable Trusts. 2011. “State of Recidivism: The Revolving Door of America’s Prisons.” Retrieved April 23, 2020 (https://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/legacy/uploadedfiles/ pcs_assets/2011/pewstateofrecidivismpdf.pdf ). Pew Research Center. 2015. “The American Middle Class Is Losing Ground.” Retrieved April 23, 2020 (https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/12/09/the-american-middle-classis-losing-ground/). Reid, Melanie 2015. “Crime and Punishment, a Global Concern: Who Does It Best and Does Isolation Really Work?” Kentucky Law Journal 103(1):45-93. Roberts, Julian V. 1992. “Public Opinion, Crime, and Criminal Justice.” Crime and Justice 16:99-180. Sanderson, Catherine A., Zanna, Adam S. and Darley, John M. 2000. “Making the Punishment Fit the Crime and the Criminal: Attributions of Dangerousness as a Mediator of Liability.” Journal of Applied Social Psychology 30(6):1137-1159. Schiavone, Stacey K. and Jeglic, Elizabeth L. 2009. “Public Perceptions of Sex Offender Social Policies and the Impact on Sex Offenders.” International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 53(6):679-695. Schuessler, Karl F. and Cressey, Donald R. 1950. “Personality Characteristics of Criminals.” American Journal of Sociology 55(5):476–484. Sinha Sudhinta. 2016. “Personality Correlates of Criminals: A Comparative Study Between Normal Controls and Criminals.” Industrial Psychiatry Journal 25(1):41–46. Steffensmeier, Darrell, Ulmer, Jeffery and Kramer, John. 1998. “The Interaction of Race, Gender, and Age in Criminal Sentencing: The Punishment Cost of Being Young, Black, and Male.” Criminology 36(4):763-798. U.S. Census Bureau. 2019. “More Than 76 Million Students Enrolled in U.S. Schools.” Retrieved April 23, 2020 (https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2018/ school-enrollment.html).


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About the Author Kaylee Johnson is a member of the class of 2020 at Christopher Newport University. She is majoring in Sociology with a concentration in Criminology and is pursuing a minor in the Philosophy of Law. She is a member of the Honors Program, the Pre-Law Program, the National Criminal Justice Honor Society (Alpha Phi Sigma), the International Sociology Honor Society (Alpha Kappa Delta), and the Student Honor Council. After graduation from Christopher Newport University, Kaylee will attend the University of Richmond School of Law as a Dean’s Scholar. She hopes to pursue a career in the field of criminal justice. Kaylee has presented similar research on criminal recidivism at the Paideia Undergraduate Research Conference at Christopher Newport University and has expanded on that research in this current study. In her free time, Kaylee enjoys cooking, reading, spending time with her friends, and educating others on the injustices of the criminal justice system.


“‘Light’ is Not a Synonym For ‘Safe’: Light Cigarettes and Public Health in America, 1964-1980” Megan McNutt Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Sara Black

Abstract After the 1964 Surgeon General Report on cigarette smoking and its relationship to lung cancer and heart disease, light cigarettes forcefully entered the tobacco market. The tactful marketing of light brand cigarettes in the 1960s and 1970s expanded the demographic of smokers in America and while they were marketed as healthier and safer products, they ended up being more dangerous to health. My paper evaluates primary sources, specifically articles that address light cigarette advertising campaigns and that track the successes and failures of light cigarette brands. Furthermore, this paper uses public health and advertising studies to elaborate on the increasing demographic of smokers in the 1960s and 1970s. This paper shows that while light cigarettes were presented as a safer alternative to regular cigarettes their popularity ended up being more detrimental to the health of American smokers.


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During the 1950s, cigarettes were a symbol of glamour and luxury. On the pages of magazines, celebrities depicted smoking as a desirable and sophisticated habit. Movie and television stars like Marilyn Monroe and John Wayne were seen smoking on and off screen and common citizens tried to emulate them. Adolescents wanting to break free from the bounds of childhood would pick up a cigarette trying to prove their maturity. It was socially acceptable for everyone to smoke all the time whether it be in a home, restaurant, or workspace or outside on the streets. There was no reason for concern until the 1964 Surgeon General report. This report confirmed that cigarettes were a cause of lung cancer and heart disease. Tobacco companies were concerned about the impact of this information on profits. So, they developed a deceptive plan to offer new “light cigarettes.” These cigarettes were said to be made with less tar and nicotine and because of this they were marketed as a healthier and safer alternative to regular cigarettes. In practice, light cigarettes were no safer than the regular ones. Two main components of cigarettes make them detrimental to health. The first is tar, which is the chemical in cigarettes that is linked to damaging lungs and leading to lung cancer in smokers. The second component is nicotine, which is another substance found in cigarettes that contains the addictive properties. After the 1964 report, the Federal Trade Commission encouraged cigarette companies to disclose the tar and nicotine levels in their cigarettes, so the American public knew what they were smoking. Two years later, in 1966, the Federal Trade Commission required a test be done on all cigarettes that determined their tar and nicotine numbers and these numbers should then be marketed on their packaging. This is when companies started to market their cigarettes as being ‘low tar’ or ‘low nicotine’ products.1 Tobacco companies’ new light brand cigarettes were being made with less tar and nicotine content than their original brands due to the health scare related to cigarettes. People assumed that these terms meant that the product was healthier. However, these health claims were misleading. Despite the Surgeon General’s warning, many people continued to smoke in the second half of the twentieth century regardless of the advice from medical professionals. Whether people read light cigarette advertisements and took them at face value for being safer or whether they had the mentality that the worst could not happen to them, these light cigarettes drew in more people than before. Tobacco companies were able to successfully sell a product that could kill people by creating the illusion that it was safe. The cigarette industry unscrupulously profited from a great danger to the public health of Americans. The tactful marketing of light brand cigarettes in the 1960s and 1970s expanded the demographic of smokers in America and while they were marketed as healthier and safer products, they ended up being more dangerous to health. Historiography In the United States the topic of cigarettes is widely researched. When there are health concerns that lead to a preventable death, medical professionals as well as scholars are quick to do research and make their own contributions to the field. Many authors have written about how tobacco companies were misleading their consumers. Joel Cohen the author of, Smokers’ Knowledge and Understanding of Advertised Tar Numbers: Health Policy Implication argued that much of the American smoking population did not understand the advertising being used by cigarette companies. They were not sure what the tar numbers put on their cigarette packaging meant and would then come to their own conclusion that they were safer based on the fact that their cigarettes were branded ‘light’ or ‘low tar.’2 Cohen came to the conclusion that there is no such thing as a safe cigarette, a sentiment which Fairchild and Colgrove touch upon in Joel B. Cohen, “Smokers’ Knowledge and Understanding of Advertised Tar Numbers: Health Policy Implication,” American Journal of Public Health 86, no. 1 (01, 1996): 18-24, https://0-search-proquest-com.read.cnu.edu/docview/215103539? accountid=10100. 2 Cohen, “Smokers’ Knowledge.” 1


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their 2004 article in the American Journal of Public Health. These two authors agree that the public was being misled by tobacco companies. These light cigarettes being marketed as safer were leading people to believe there was no risk for them to smoke the products.3 Like Cohen, they blamed the cigarette industry for a portion of deaths in America because they care more about revenue then the health and safety of the American people. Regarding the industry profiting off of cigarettes and light cigarettes in particular, scholars Jon Hanson and Douglas Kysar studied the market manipulation that came from the tobacco industry. Interestingly, unlike the two other works mentioned in the previous paragraph, this paper notes that people were aware of the health risks of regular cigarettes and the cigarette industry was able to use this fear to manipulate them. Light cigarettes were a way for cigarette companies to lower the public’s perception of risk by marketing this product as safer and healthier or having low tar and nicotine contents.4 In 2006, Mark Reed, Christy Anderson, and David Burns did a study that put these arguments to the test. They agreed that the tobacco industry was being deceptive in their advertisements for light, low tar cigarettes and wanted to see if it was effective in terms of their sales. As Fairchild and Colgrove alluded to and Hanson and Kyser claimed, cigarette companies were making a profit off this new brand of cigarette. In the research done by Reed et al they came to the conclusion that the increase in print advertisements of light cigarettes lead to an increase in sales and their marketing of being a healthier alternative to regular cigarettes lead them to dominate the cigarette market.5 While all these authors have touched on tobacco companies being deceptive, one journal wrote about the actual methods used to successfully advertise. Greta Hsu and Stine Grodal agreed with the previous claims that the introduction and success of light cigarettes was due to health concerns including lung cancer and other pulmonary illnesses. They also agree that tobacco companies used strategic marketing although they did not pin it as being misleading or deceptive as others have. Instead they pointed out what made light brand cigarette marketing so effective. During the 60s and 70s, there was a sharp rise in light cigarette ads that reference science and also reference competitor brands. For example, they not only market their products as being low in tar or nicotine but also lower compared to competing light brands. Companies would also cite science to back up how their products were safer for you.6 These tactics were successful in attracting consumers and increasing light cigarette sales. Another highly debated topic is the advertising ban that went into effect in early January 1971. This banned cigarette ads from airing on television and radio in the United States. Many scholars have debated how this ban affected cigarette consumption if at all. Michael Capella et al came to the conclusion that the advertising ban did not have a significant Amy Fairchild and James Colgrove, “Out of the Ashes: The Life, Death, and Rebirth of the “Safer” Cigarette in the United States,” American Journal of Public Health 94, no. 2 (02, 2004): 192-204, https://0-search-proquest com.read.cnu.edu/ docview/215092134?accountid=10100. 4 Jon D. Hanson and Douglas A. Kysar, “Taking Behavioralism Seriously: Some Evidence of Market Manipulation,” Harvard Law Review 112, no. 7 (1999): 1420-572, Accessed February 20, 2020. doi:10.2307/1342413. 5 Mark B. Reed Christy M. Anderson, and David M. Burns, “The Temporal Relationship between Advertising and Sales of Low-Tar Cigarettes,” Tobacco Control 15, no. 6 (12, 2006): 436, doi:http://0 dx.doi.org.read.cnu.edu/10.1136/tc.2005.015354. https://0-search-proquest com.read.cnu.edu/docview/1781897035? accountid=10100. 6 Greta Hsu and Stine Grodal, “Category Taken-for-Grantedness as a Strategic Opportunity: The Case of Light Cigarettes, 1964 to 1993,” American Sociological Review 80, no. 1 (2015): 28-62, Accessed January 31, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/24756699. 3


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effect on cigarette consumption. Likewise, authors Avery Abernethy and Jesse Teel agree that the advertising restrictions were ineffective. However, Abernethy and Teel have the opinion that broadcast advertisements were never effective for cigarette sales to begin with, it was print advertising that had a large positive effect on cigarette consumption. Abernathy and Teel believe that informing consumers of the negative health effects is a more effective way to reduce consumption than an advertising ban.7 Capella et al have a slightly different view. They believe that banning cigarette broadcast advertising did not influence cigarette consumption but also that advertising in general does not have any significance in people’s decision to start smoking either. Rather, advertising is used as a device to get people to switch cigarette brands.8 Finally, while many of the prior sources include anecdotes from health professionals and briefly mention the health consequences of light cigarettes there is a group of authors whose literature is solely dedicated to discussing the actual health effects of light cigarettes. A journal written by Tindle et al in the American Journal of Public Health discusses the negative effects of light cigarettes. The authors tell us they were commonly used in place of people quitting smoking because they were thought to be a healthy alternative. They also elaborated on how these cigarettes were marketed as having less tar and nicotine, but in reality, they did not. They were carefully made so that when they were smoked in a test simulation they would appear as delivering less tar and nicotine.9 Another article produced by a U.S. Newswire author agrees with Tindel et al and cites health professionals saying that light cigarettes expose you to the same amount of tar and nicotine. Just like previous claims this article believes people are given a false sense of security when in reality they are smoking something that is just as deadly and with the same adverse health effects as before.10 Shiffman et al also did a health study that provided a bit of different perspective. They agree that light cigarettes pose comparably the same negative health risks but that it is a common misconception among people that they are safer. They go on to say that part of the reason for this is there is a less harsh sensation when smoking a light cigarette brand. Shiffman et al believes that if there was more advertising and media coverage of the negative effects of light brand cigarettes it would cause more people to quit smoking.11 Similarly, in a journal by Viscusi he also believes that the FDA should take more action to distribute information on the health dangers of smoking so people know the risks they are taking.12 Avery M. Abernethy, and Jesse E. Teel, “Advertising Regulation’s Effect upon Demand for Cigarettes,” Journal of Advertising 15, no. 4 (1986): 51-55, Accessed March 25, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/4622132. 8 Michael L. Capella, Charles R. Taylor, and Cynthia Webster, “The Effect of Cigarette Advertising Bans on Consumption: A Meta-Analysis,” Journal of Advertising 37, no. 2 (2008): 7-18, Accessed February 19, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/20460839. 9 Hilary A. Tindle, Nancy A. Rigotti, Roger B. Davis, Elizabeth M. Barbeau, and et al, “Cessation among Smokers of “Light” Cigarettes: Results from the 2000 National Health Interview Survey,” American Journal of Public Health 96, no. 8 (08, 2006): 1498-504, https://0-search-proquest.com.read.cnu.edu/ docview/215089979?accountid=10100. 10 “National Cancer Institute Report Concludes ‘Light,’ ‘Low-Tar’ Cigarettes do Not Reduce Health Risks; Health Groups Issue Statement,” U.S.Newswire, Nov 27, 2001, https://0-search-proquest com.read.cnu.edu/docview/450951787? accountid=10100. 11 Saul Shiffman, Janine L. Pillitteri, Steven L. Burton, Jeffrey M. Rohay, and Joe G. Gitchell, “Effect of Health Messages about “Light” and “Ultra Light” Cigarettes on Beliefs and Quitting Intent,” Tobacco Control 10 (2001): I24-32, Accessed March 25, 2020, www.jstor.org/stable/20207991. 12 W. Kip Viscusi, “Constructive Cigarette Regulation,” 47, no. 6 (1998): 1095- 131, Accessed February 20, 2020. doi:10.2307/1373032. 7


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Building on the existing literature on light cigarette smoking I will elaborate on how the marketing of these light cigarettes expanded the demographic of smokers in America. I will also delve into how these light cigarettes that were supposed to be safer were actually more harmful to health. In 1963 Americans set a record high for cigarette consumption for the seventh year in a row.13 While there was a scare about cancer and other health related problems related to cigarette smoking there was not true cause for concern until the Surgeon General put out a report the following year. In 1964 it was confirmed that cigarette smoking was linked to lung cancer, heart disease and chronic bronchitis. In light of the announcement, cigarette sales rapidly declined as people were concerned for their health. While the American people were trying to quit smoking this addictive cancer stick, the tobacco industry was undergoing a crisis. This multibillion-dollar industry was losing revenue because the American people were concerned about their health.14 There was a rapid search to create a safer cigarette to draw the American people back in. Strategic Advertising It did not take long for the Tobacco industry to develop what they termed light cigarettes. These cigarettes were supposed to be safer for health because they had lower tar and nicotine contents as well as filters. The light cigarette caught the attention of many Americans and after a few months of cigarette sales being down they began to rise again for a short period at the end of 1964. However, there was much debate among them. In terms of contents of the cigarette itself, many believe that if you took away part of the cigarettes there would not be enough flavor left to want to smoke. On the other hand, health professionals thought that even with these added filters and the reduction of tar and nicotine in these products you could still not fully protect yourself from adverse health risks.15 Cigarette companies were unsure whether these light cigarettes would become as popular as regular cigarettes, but they put a lot of effort into advertising to try and strengthen the appeal of the products. Since many of the Americans who had cut back smoking or tried to stop did so out of health concerns, the best way to market the light cigarettes was to claim that they were better for your health than a regular cigarette. In the beginning companies such as Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds would advertise using words such as light, low, softer or mild. Over time, advertisements changed to become more competitive with other light brands. This tactic of using health claims to entice consumers worked. For example, the light brand Now advertised its cigarette as being the lowest in tar of all the king-sized cigarettes (see Image 1). Not only did Now mention in its advertisement that it had less tar than competing brands, but “Tobacco Industry’s Peak Year: 523 Billion Cigarettes Smoked: 1963 SET RECORD IN CIGARETTE USE,” New York Times (1923-Current file), Jan 1 1964, https://0-search proquestcom.read.cnu.edu/docview/115538813/ fulltextPDF/F901A7CB831A4859PQ/1?accountid=10100 14 Richard Rutter, “CIGARETTE SALES ARE REBOUNDING: Decline Following Surgeon General’s Health Report Is Now Less Severe COMPETITION INCREASES New Brands Introduced – Search for ‘Safe’ Smoke Picks Up – Cigars Gain Sales of Cigarettes Regain Strength After Setback Caused by the Health Report SMOKING DISPUTE APPEARS TO FADE Tobacco Industry Believed to Have Survived Crisis With Little Damage,” New York Times (1923-Current file), Mar 15 1964, https://0-search-proquest com.read.cnu.edu/ docview/115722546/F46E159E33474C9FPQ/2?accountid=10100 15 Harold Schmeck, “SURGEON GENERAL WARNS ON FILTERS: SAYS NONE CAN GIVE SMOKER COMPLETE PROTECTION,” New York Times (1923-Current File), Jul 14, 1967, https://0-search-proquestcom.read.cnu.edu/ docview/117530202?accountid=10100. 13


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also that it had a mild and pleasant flavor.16 Starting in the middle of the 1960s and throughout the 1970s light cigarettes became wildly popular among the American people. Light cigarette sales soared so high that they eventually surpassed regular cigarettes and became the most popular tobacco brand in the United States. This achievement for the tobacco industry would not have been possible without playing the people’s own health concerns against them in order to successfully market light cigarettes. In a 1980 New York Times article, Steve Lohr discussed ‘Light Brand’ cigarettes and how they have affected the industry as well as cigarette smokers. This is evident in the article being examined as he takes a more business approach on the subject of the new light or low tar cigarettes that were incredibly popular throughout the end of the 1960s, 70s and, into the 80s. He talks about the “tar wars,” the marketing response to these new low tar cigarettes. They became so popular with the American public that different companies in the cigarette industry began fighting an advertising battle to try and show that they had the healthier cigarette choice for consumers over the competing brands. Lohr highlighted in his article which low tar brands were leading in sales and how much tar content they contained. For example, the Philip Morris Merit brand was leading in sales with a tar content of 8mg. The R.J. Reynolds Salem Lights followed very close behind in sales but with a higher tar content of 11mg. However, lower tar content should not be used as an indicator of better sales because there are many brands down the list with tar contents even lower than the Merit brand.17 Lohr’s article demonstrated what the American public thought about smoking and how it affected their health at the time. It was clear that the American smoking population was aware of the negative effects of smoking cigarettes and were looking for a ‘healthier’ alternative. At the time this article was written, about 43% of all cigarettes sold in the U.S. were of the low tar brand. The advertising used and the actual cigarette packaging were supposed to emphasize how clean that cigarette was, for example many packages were white and pristine in appearance. This article also mentioned that the profile of smokers buying low tar products was expanding meaning that a broader amount of people was generally concerned with how smoking was affecting their health. While cigarette companies assumed that women would be drawn to this product, men also switched over to light cigarettes as well as the African American population. However, it is possible that instead of quitting cigarettes all together people were instead just switching over to light brands.18 While about half the population of smokers were concerned with their health, the tobacco industry itself was concerned about their profits. Creating low tar brands was an opportunity for more sales in an already booming industry. Nicotine has not gotten as much attention from health authorities as tar but that it is known to be poisonous in large quantities. What was known back then and what is very clearly known today is the addictive nature of nicotine. These cigarette companies were making a ‘healthier’ cigarette, but the issue of addiction and its R. W. Pollay, and T. Dewhirst, “The Dark Side of Marketing Seemingly ‘Light’ Cigarettes: Successful Images and Failed Fact,” Tobacco Control 11 (2002): i18–i31, www.jstor. org/stable/20208001. 17 Steve Lohr, “Cigarette ‘Tar Wars’ Intensify: Light Brands Proliferate as Demand Soars Trend Toward Lighter Products ‘Low--Tar’ Cigarette Brands Proliferate as use Soars Pristine Presentation Changing Smoker Profile,” New York Times (1923-Current File), Apr 15, 1980, https://0-search-proquestcom.read.cnu.edu/ docview/121386084?accountid=10100. 18 Steve Lohr, “Cigarette ‘Tar Wars’ Intensify: Light Brands Proliferate as Demand Soars Trend Toward Lighter Products ‘Low--Tar’ Cigarette Brands Proliferate as use Soars Pristine Presentation Changing Smoker Profile,” New York Times (1923-Current File), Apr 15, 1980, https://0-search-proquestcom.read.cnu.edu/ docview/121386084?accountid=10100. 16


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long-term consequences was still very real if only masked at the time. In 1967, the Federal Trade Commission started listing the tar and nicotine contents in cigarettes. In a New York Times article from 1976, the author put out the F.T.C. list of tar and nicotine ratings of 145 different brands. The author made sure to repeat the sentiment that tar was the element that produced cancer but also mentioned that nicotine was poisonous as well. It is a stimulant that is connected to heart attacks.19 While these numbers were laid out for the people, they did not necessarily know what they meant. Many American were also not even paying attention to what the tar and nicotine contents were in the cigarettes they were smoking. This is likely due to how they were being advertised. The companies made the people feel like their health was safe and they did not need to check up on these products on their own. A 1977 interview with R.J. Reynolds Tobacco’s vice president of advertising and brand management, Thomas Sandefur, gave insight into how this company was able to successfully market their Salem Lights cigarettes throughout the 1960s and 70s. He noted that with the health controversy marketing had to change. R.J. Reynolds was able to figure out who they believed most of their audience would be and how to market these cigarettes to them. While they initially were targeting older women for Salem Lights, they ended up drawing in a more diverse group. Men, women, and African Americans caught onto this low tar brand and once they realized this, they added marketing segments that would appeal to these other groups.20 They placed advertisements in women’s magazines, male monthly subscriptions, public markets, and black media in order to grasp the attention of these people that have begun to favor light cigarettes. R.J. Reynolds was responding to their expanded consumer demand by advertising their light cigarettes in new venues. Cigarette companies were able to identify the audience of light cigarettes and tailor marketing towards them specifically. However, they were very well aware of the health scare surrounding cigarettes. Many companies did not want to admit that low tar levels meant they were less harmful because that would mean that higher tar content was hazardous to health and thus a loss in revenue.21 Instead of coming out saying their light products were a safer version of their other cigarettes they just advertised them as having low tar contents and being a softer or more mild smoke. This left the American people to come to their own conclusion about light cigarettes being better for their health. Many companies would also market their light cigarettes as having a lower tar content than another competing brand in order to sway consumers to buy their product. Additionally, many brands started to site scientific “facts” in their advertisements to prove to their buyers that their claims were legitimate. For example, the Philip Morris Merit brand had an advertisement that stated in large letters “Merit Science Works” (see image 2). They marketed their cigarettes as being made by science to have very low amounts of tar but a better flavor than even the leading high tar brands.22 When the light brands became popular among the consumers the tobacco industry was then able to make the claim that they were “CIGARETTES RATED ON TAR, NICOTINE: F.T.C. IN ‘17TH LISTING GIVES CONTENT OF 145 BRANDS.” New York Times (1923-Current File), Apr 24, 1976. https://0-search-proquestcom.read.cnu.edu/docview/122691570? accountid=10100. 20 Philip Dougherty, “Advertising: Inside a Menthol Cigarette Campaign,” New York Times (1923-Current File), Mar 31, 1977, https://0-search-proquest-com.read.cnu. edu/docview/123476454?accountid=10100. 21 Wayne King, “Low-Tar Cigarettes Creating a ‘Revolution’,” New York Times (1923-Current File), Oct 30, 1976, https://0-search-proquest com.read.cnu.edu/ docview/122837483?accountid=10100. 22 R. W. Pollay, and T. Dewhirst, “The Dark Side of Marketing Seemingly ‘Light’ Cigarettes: Successful Images and Failed Fact,” Tobacco Control 11 (2002): i18–i31, www.jstor. org/stable/20208001. 19


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creating an abundance of light cigarettes because of consumer demand and not as a result of health concerns or in place of regular cigarettes. Along with the advertising that lead the American public to assume light cigarettes were a safer and healthier alternative to the regular brand, the industry also started creating synthetic flavors to add to their cigarettes to further draw consumers in. While regular cigarettes got their flavor naturally from the tobacco, tar and other elements of the cigarette, light cigarettes were losing their natural flavor. With the reduction of tar and nicotine and the addition of filters, light cigarettes lost much of the flavor that was part of the appeal of smoking to many people. In order to make up for the loss of flavor companies started adding “flavorants,” synthetic flavor components.23 This made up for the loss of natural flavors but it also now allowed companies to market their products as having a variety of flavors such as “winey,” “buttery,” “smooth,” or “sulfury.”24 These flavors were made to replicate the lost tobacco flavor in the light cigarettes. This new idea of adding flavor to light cigarettes was a successful marketing tactic. The successful marketing of the tobacco industry in the 1960s along with pressure from antismoking lobbyists led President Nixon to sign the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act of 1969. This bill banned cigarette commercials from playing on television and radio starting January 2, 1972. Policymakers and antismoking advocates were not only victorious in banning broadcast advertising of cigarettes but also cigarette companies were required to strengthen the health warnings on cigarette packaging. Furthermore, distributers were required to provide a health warning at all counters where tobacco products were sold.25 The tobacco industry fought tirelessly against this ban making claims that there had been no new evidence linking cigarettes to health risks since 1964 and thus no need to target their broadcasted ads. They often tried to downplay the negative effects of smoking while at the same time using the public’s health concerns as an advertising ploy. Instead of a total ban the tobacco industry proposed a different regulation where instead of getting rid of their advertisements all together they would lessen their broadcast advertising. For every antismoking ad that was put out they believed they should be allowed one pro-smoking ad however, this proposal was not approved.26 Although the broadcast ban had been designed to reduce smoking and protect public health, it ended up being a cost-effective measure for cigarette companies. Previously, for every antismoking ad that was broadcasted the tobacco industry responded by broadcasting three pro-smoking ads, which was incredibly expensive.27 With the broadcasting ban tobacco companies did not have to spend the extra money to compete with the antismoking ads. It was also about the same cost to do one 30 second broadcast ad as it was to do one full page, four color, print ad. At the time, the population was also more influenced by magazines because they were very common in households and more people read magazines in general making the print advertising option better already. Overall, the broadcast ban was ineffective. While many leaders in the cigarette industry worried about backlash from the ban, cigarette sales continued to increase after the ban was Wayne King, “Low-Tar Cigarettes Creating a ‘Revolution’,” New York Times (1923-Current File), Oct 30, 1976, https://0-search-proquest com.read.cnu.edu/ docview/122837483?accountid=10100. 24 Ibid. 25 “Nixon Signs Bill Banning Radio-TV Cigarette Ads,” New York Times (1923-Current File), Apr 02, 1970, https://0-search-proquest-com.read.cnu.edu/ docview/119036753?accountid=10100. 26 Sandra J. Teel, Jesse E. Teel, and William O. Bearden, “Lessons Learned from the Broadcast Cigarette Advertising Ban,” Journal of Marketing 43, no. 1 (1979): 45-50, Accessed February 19, 2020, doi:10.2307/1250757. 27 Ibid. 23


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implemented.28 The ban did not have a negative effect on cigarette consumption and perhaps it was even counterproductive in the efforts to decrease tobacco consumption. Multiple studies, including the one done by Sandra Teel, Jesse Teel, and William Bearden, have shown that broadcast advertising did not have an effect on cigarette intake while print advertising did.29 Print advertisements had a positive effect on increasing tobacco consumption however, the ban focused on broadcast advertisements which had little to no relation to cigarette consumption.30 Thus the regulations for broadcasting failed to influence smoking rates. The actions the government took against cigarette companies were supposed to benefit the health of the American people. However, the American public was either uninterested or uniformed about the damage that cigarettes could do to their health. While nearly all Americans knew cigarettes cause lung cancer and a whole host of other health problems, there was serious misinformation about light cigarettes. The tobacco companies used light cigarettes as a sort of band aid to cover up the health scare towards the regular brand of cigarettes and it seems that the American people fell for it. Demographic Shifts The demographics of Americans who smoked broadened dramatically with the introduction of light cigarettes to the market. In 1979, the Surgeon General and the National Center for Health Statistics did a study on percentages of smokers and nonsmokers in the years 1955, 1966 and 1978 (see Image 3). The statistics looked at adults ages 18 years and older in the years 1955 and 1966, and adults 17 years and older in 1978. It also differentiated by gender. For each year the chart showed percentages of both men and women who were current smokers, former smokers, or who never smoked. In this study, men who claimed to be current smokers stayed relatively similar between the first two years with 52.6% in 1955 and 51.9% in 1966. There was a noticeable drop off in 1978 when only 37.4% claimed to be current smokers. Throughout history men have been more likely to smoke so it makes sense that there was little change between 1955 and 1966. The drop off in 1978 is also unsurprising because it had been over ten years sense the Surgeon General Report and smoking was on the decline at this point. 1966 was the year with least percentage of men who had never smoked with the number being 24.5%. This means that in 1966, after the Surgeon General Report, more men had been smokers than ever before. In 1955, 36.5% of men had never smoked and in 1978 34.7% of men had never smoked.31 These statistics show proof that even after the 1964 Surgeon General report the male population continued smoking pretty regularly. The availability of light cigarettes likely contributed to this. It makes sense however, that nearing the 1980s the male population of smokers had decreased because in general the smoking population in the United States was on the decline. While male smoking rates remained consistent, female smoking rates actually increased following the report. In 1955, only 24.5% of women were current smokers. In 1966, the percentage of women smokers rose significantly to 33.7%. In 1978, the percentage dropped Alexander Hammer, “Cigarettes and TV: Sales Are Strong Despite Ad Ban,” New York Times (1923-Current File),18 Apr 1971, https://0-search proquestcom.read.cnu. edu/docview/119231914/8B3E06C5B9284A3DPQ/3?accountid=10100 29 Sandra J. Teel, Jesse E. Teel, and William O. Bearden, “Lessons Learned from the Broadcast Cigarette Advertising Ban,” Journal of Marketing 43, no. 1 (1979): 45 50, Accessed February 19, 2020, doi:10.2307/1250757. 30 Avery M. Abernethy, and Jesse E. Teel, “Advertising Regulation’s Effect upon Demand for Cigarettes,” Journal of Advertising 15, no. 4 (1986): 51-55. Accessed April 2, 2020, www.jstor.org/stable/4622132. 31 Lester Breslow, “Cigarette Smoking and Health,” Public Health Reports (1974-) 95, no. 5 (1980): 451-55, Accessed February 19, 2020, www.jstor.org/stable/4596358. 28


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a little to 30.4%, and while this was a slight drop off it was still a higher percentage than in 1955. The percentage of women who never smoked also decreased each year. In 1955, 71.6% of women never smoked, in 1966 that number dropped to 56.9%, and in 1978 it fell again slightly to 55.3%.32 While male smoking was generally the same when recorded in 1955 and 1966, female smoking significantly increased. In 1978 both the percentage of men and women decreased because at that point smoking was on the decline in the United States. Light cigarettes at the time were often viewed as being designed for women because the word light and lightness was associated with femininity. Additionally, a test was done that showed women having a sensitivity to high nicotine contents which caused them to feel sick. Light cigarettes were being produced with less nicotine and therefore women were less susceptible to getting sick when they smoked them. It is probable that without light cigarettes many women would have chosen not to smoke or quit smoking. However, when presented with the light option women gave into social pressures and chose to smoke the lights.33 Throughout the 60s and 70s the percentage of cigarette consumption jumped for women in all age groups. However, during this same period teens and young adults also increased in their per capita cigarette consumption. While most groups were stabilizing or declining, the number of young people who smoked was increasing. When young people were asked about their knowledge of light cigarettes many responded with misinformation and they rarely knew the tar or nicotine level of the cigarette brand they chose to smoke. Young people either believed they were not at risk because they smoked light cigarettes, or they chose to be ignorant to the health risks surrounding cigarettes all together.34 While studies vary in exactly how much of an increase there was in per capita cigarette consumption of young adults, experts widely agreed that between 1968 and 1976 there was an increase in smoking by Americans ages 15 to 24 years old.35 Health Implications At the time of the 1964 Surgeon General Report there was not widely available information on cigarettes effects on women, children and teenagers. When the 1964 report came out it talked about the damaging health risks of cigarettes but also specifically stated that it was related to lung cancer in men, leaving out mention of women and children. The most plausible reason for this is that at that time more men were being diagnosed with lung cancer and had worse smoking habits that women. Light cigarettes were leading women and teens to pick up smoking habits similar to that of men in the 1950s and because of this, in the 1979 Surgeon General Report on Smoking Health there was a focus on these groups of people. The 1979 report brought together important information on the smoking habits and consequences of women and children. It cited that approximately 4,000 children become smokers every day and that they were starting to smoke at an earlier age. Specifically, the percentage of girls ages 12 to 14 who smoked increased eightfold since 1968 which is leading girls to start Ibid. Brett Silverstein, Scott Feld, and Lynn T. Kozlowski, “The Availability of Low-Nicotine Cigarettes as a Cause of Cigarette Smoking among Teenage Females,” Journal of Health and Social Behavior 21, no. 4 (1980): 383-88, Accessed February 19, 2020, www.jstor.org/stable/2136415. 34 R. W. Pollay, and T. Dewhirst, “The Dark Side of Marketing Seemingly “Light” Cigarettes: Successful Images and Failed Fact,” Tobacco Control 11 (2002): I18-31, Accessed April 3, 2020, www.jstor.org/stable/20208001. 35 Sandra J. Teel, Jesse E. Teel, and William O. Bearden, “Lessons Learned from the Broad cast Cigarette Advertising Ban,” Journal of Marketing 43, no. 1 (1979): 45-50. Accessed February 19, 2020, doi:10.2307/1250757. 32 33


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catching up with boys in their smoking rates.36 For adult women, the 1979 report shed light on many different health consequences. Women who smoked while pregnant were a big concern highlighted by the Surgeon General. Smoking increases the risk of spontaneous abortion, fetal death, neonatal death and slows down the rate of fetal growth. It can also have lasting effects on the child including growth and behavioral or intellectual development up to age 11. Aside from pregnancy this report also shared that lung cancer among women was rapidly increasing and if it continued at the current rate it would surpass breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer deaths in women.37 Even before the 1964 and the 1979 Surgeon General Report on Smoking and Health, the American public had concerns about smoking and its effects on health. Back in 1949, Gallup ran its first poll relating to cigarettes and health. They asked American smokers if cigarettes were harmful and 52% of them said that they were. While the question overall is vague it does show that at least half of the smoking population were skeptical in some way about cigarettes whether it was as extreme as a life-threatening cancer sentence or it just produced a chronic cough. Almost ten years later Gallup did another poll in 1958 asking if smoking cigarettes was a cause of lung cancer. The results this poll received were very split: 33% said yes, it was a cause, 43% said it was not, and 24% were undecided. While this was prior to the 1964 Surgeon General Report that confirmed cigarette smoking as a cause of lung cancer, the medical and scientific community were starting to raise concerns about smoking’s relation to cancer in the latter half of the 1950s. This Gallup poll shows that while about a third of the population did believe that smoking cigarettes caused cancer, more than half of the population either did not know or did not believe it caused cancer. People were quick to discredit early scientists and doctors’ claims. In spite of the medical knowledge circulating among the medical community in the 1960s many doctors were ambivalent about the dangers of smoking. A poll conducted in 1960 asked doctors if cigarette smoking was a major cause of lung cancer. Only 33% of respondents said “definitely”, and another 31% responded “probably”. On the other hand 13% answered “probably not”, 9% said “definitely not”, and 14% stated that they had no opinion.38 That same poll revealed that 43% of doctors were still smoking on a regular basis and of those who were not most of them had been former smokers. Although this poll took place before 1964, the medical community suggested cigarettes caused lung cancer throughout the 1950s. The medical community was educated in health and supposed to be guiding the public to its finest wellbeing. Therefore, if doctors were still smoking and only partially believed that cigarettes had a connection to cancer there was a slimmer chance that the American public would accept the connection of cigarettes and cancer. It is also historically true that people who come from different educational backgrounds learn about health harms at different rates, with those being less educated at the slower end of the spectrum and those with more education at the higher end of the spectrum. In this case the medical professionals would obviously be at the top along with the other members of the scientific community. John M. Pinney, “The Largest Preventable Cause of Death in the United States,” Public Health Reports (1974-) 94, no. 2 (1979): 107-08, Accessed February 19, 2020, www.jstor.org/stable/4596047. 37 John M. Pinney, “The Largest Preventable Cause of Death in the United States,” Public Health Reports (1974-) 94, no. 2 (1979): 107-08, Accessed February 19, 2020, www.jstor.org/stable/4596047. 38 Robert N Proctor, “Measuring Ignorance: The Impact of Industry Disinformation on Popular Knowledge of Tobacco Hazards,” In Golden Holocaust: Origins of the Cigarette Catastrophe and the Case for Abolition, 305-39. University of California Press, 2011, Accessed April 6, 2020, www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1pnxdm.26. 36


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Among the adult American smoking population there was a consensus that smoking was in some way bad for health. After the 1964 Report came out many smokers had concerns about smoking and needed reassurance. This was when the cigarette industry decided to take advantage of smokers, creating campaigns based of misleading ads and false marketing. In an advertisement put out by R. J. Reynolds for their True cigarettes they equated smoking their light cigarette to quitting, in an attempt to keep these newly health cautious Americans smoking (see Image 4). The industry even made promises that if they found true evidence of harms caused by cigarettes, they would immediately stop production. This dedication to the prevention of American smokers knowing and believing the truth about health claims coupled with the fact that many smokers were addicted to cigarettes at that point, is what kept the cigarette industry in business. People allowed themselves to believe what the cigarette industry was saying to them. Even of the people who did associate cigarette smoking with cancer, many believed that in order to get cancer you had to be a very heavy smoker consuming a pack and a half or more a day. It was not until the 1970s and 1980s that a majority of smokers thought that cigarettes were a major cause of death.39 We can figure out a lot about how Americans viewed their health in relation to cigarettes by letters written to tobacco companies. A common way to gripe or make suggestions was sending in letters. Many people would write in saying they did not believe cigarettes caused cancer mostly based on the premise that they had been smoking for many years and did not have it. Others would talk about how exaggerated the notion is and state that people die much more often from other causes. In 1985 a woman wrote into R.J. Reynolds to protest against actions being taken against cigarette companies that she believed were unfair and ridiculous: “I think the case of the woman suing for her husband’s death is full of baloney. I know people who have died of Lung Cancer that never smoked. Also no way can they pinpoint this is caused by cigarettes. When I put my white lawn umbrella on the lawn in the summer and it is black in the fall—like soot—I am sure it is not caused by cigarette smoke. In fact I don’t believe the lung association can prove anything either. With so many other things in the air, where you work etc! I love to smoke—why don’t people mind their own business.... This country is getting just like Russia. No rights!”40 This woman shared a very common sentiment with other smokers in America. She refused to believe that cigarettes caused lung cancer because she knew people who died of lung cancer who never smoked. It was hard for many smokers to believe cigarettes were dangerous and many thought it was a ploy by the government to get rid of cigarettes. It outraged smokers that people wanted to take away cigarettes because it was likely many of them had an addiction. This denial is seen in this letter and it was very common for tobacco companies to receive similar notes. Of course they were happy to respond in a way that continued to mislead the public. Writing out these letters and receiving a reply was the reassurance these consumers needed, that there was not true evidence of harm and they could continue smoking without hesitation. Furthermore, this helped the companies continue to profit off of cigarettes. In regard to increase of children and teens that started to take up smoking in the 1960s and 1970s, the 1979 Surgeon General Report suggested that almost all children by the time they reached junior high school believed smoking was dangerous, but the fear of health consequences was not enough to keep them from smoking cigarettes. It was common for many teens to know someone around them that smoked and they recognized the fact that those people were not instantly becoming ill or dying cancer and heart attacks nor that it was even a certainty Robert N Proctor, “Measuring Ignorance: The Impact of Industry Disinformation on Popular Knowledge of Tobacco Hazards,” In Golden Holocaust: Origins of the Cigarette Catastrophe and the Case for Abolition, 305-39. University of California Press, 2011, Accessed April 6, 2020, www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1pnxdm.26. 40 Ibid. 39


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they would be afflicted by them at all. Many teens and young people tend to live in the moment and not think much about how their actions will affect them in the future because it is not relevant to them now, because of this they did not fear smoking or the consequences it had on the health. Teenagers also believed that they could take up smoking and easily quit whenever they want. This was not the reality as it is known it does not take long for your brain and your body to become addicted. Many teenagers throughout the 60s and 70s lived in disregard for how cigarettes could negatively affect their health and truly believed that they would not be stricken by any health consequences. Their belief that they could stop before their health was affected was foolish, as cigarettes create a little bit of lasting damage each time they are smoked.41 There was a clear amount of ignorance and misconception throughout the ranks of American smokers. Some believed that the claims of cancer and other health risks caused by cigarettes were false while others believed that they would not be affected because they did not smoke enough to have consequences. Many people who did have some fear of negative health effects switched over to light cigarettes because they were marketed as a safer product and this eased the smoker’s mind. However, in truth light cigarettes could still produce the same negative effects as the regular cigarettes. It was a common misconception that light cigarettes reduce the smoker’s risk of damaging health effects. Light cigarettes were heavily marketed on the fact that they were lower in tar than regular cigarettes making them a healthier and safer option. In reality, research shows that many light cigarettes often deliver just as much tar as regular cigarettes. The Cambridge Filter Method, or FTC test, was created in 1966 to assign tar and nicotine numbers. This test used a machine that “smoked” cigarettes and then assigned a number to the brand based off the results of the test. This method was inconsistent for two reasons. The first being that cigarette companies found a way to manipulate their cigarettes so that when they went through this test it would show that they were delivering less tar and nicotine then when actually smoked by a human being. Secondly, the Federal Trade Commission stated the test machine itself was sufficiently flawed. Regardless of the defects the tar and nicotine numbers this test produced were used for a very long time. By manipulating these tests, the tobacco companies were able to produce false results and then present it as “science” to support the relative safety of their products. It was not until 2008 that the Federal Trade Commission deemed this method ineffective. 42 Not only were light cigarettes being falsely marketed as having less tar and nicotine, the whole concept was also misleading. Tar and nicotine were the two substances that were deemed detrimental to health and because light cigarettes were marketed as having significantly less of these two properties many people believed they were no longer in harm’s way when smoking them. This could not be further from true. Even if cigarettes companies were honest in the fact that their light cigarettes were lower in tar and nicotine, their products would still be unhealthy and unsafe because of how smoking brings unwanted substances into the person’s body and lungs. Additionally, just because the delivery amount of tar and nicotine was lessened did not make it any more of a healthy or safe substance, it was still toxic to the body. Light cigarettes also led to worse smoking habits among the American people. With the addition of filters there was a significant change to the flavor of the cigarette. In order for many smokers to be satisfied they would take longer, deeper drags of the cigarette. This resulted in the cigarette smoke being trapped in the lungs longer before being released. Additionally, many people thought that because they switched to light cigarettes and the health risks were John M. Pinney, “The Largest Preventable Cause of Death in the United States,” Public Health Reports (1974-) 94, no. 2 (1979): 107-08, Accessed February 19, 2020, www.jstor.org/stable/4596047. 42 Saul Shiffman, Janine L. Pillitteri, Steven L. Burton, Jeffrey M. Rohay, and Joe G. Gitchell, “Smokers’ Beliefs about “Light” and “Ultra Light” Cigarettes,” Tobacco Control 10 (2001): I17-23, Accessed April 6, 2020, www.jstor.org/stable/20207990. 41


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less, they could smoke more each day. This caused many people to increase their cigarette consumption each day. The misconception that light cigarette were healthier was justification for many people to get on board with smoking habits that were incredibly unhealthy for them. While people would agree that smoking more regular cigarettes a day would negatively impact their health, smoking more light cigarettes a day was okay because it would not have amounted to what they would normally have been smoking with regular cigarettes.43 One of the most commonly viewed problems about the light cigarette is the belief that if they had not entered the market more people would have quit smoking. Many people switched over to light cigarettes from regular cigarettes and because they were seen as less harmful switching to lights became an acceptable alternative to quitting smoking altogether.44 While a large majority of people claimed that switching to lights was the first step to quitting a vast portion of attempts ended there. For women, many would have quickly quit smoking because they had negative side effects to smoking regular cigarettes. However, the number of women who smoked shot up with the introduction of light cigarettes. Light cigarettes drew in new smokers and allowed veteran smokers to switch to a light brand instead of quitting. Both groups of smokers, whether new or old, smoked light cigarettes based of the premise that they were healthier and safer. In the 1960s the cigarette industry had a choice of whether to accept defeat based on the claims that cigarettes were detrimental health and led to lung cancer, heart attacks, and chronic bronchitis or continue to sell a product that was killing many Americans each year. Due to the rampant success the industry was having, they continued to sell cigarettes and even used the fear among American smokers to create and successfully market a new product. Light cigarettes were so popular because of phony advertising claims. They were marketed as healthier and safer when in reality little was done to make them a healthier product. Advertisements cited science, promoted low tar and nicotine numbers, and stated health “facts” about their cigarettes. Many smokers were so willing to accept light cigarettes because they felt guilty about smoking, but their addiction would not allow them to quit. On the other hand, a large majority of people stated they did not believe the health accusations being made. Cigarette consumption continued to rise until the 1980s proving that many people were disregarding or ignorant to the fact that cigarettes caused cancer along with a whole list of other health problems. Without the creation of light cigarettes and the tactful advertising done by the cigarette industry the smoking craze followed by the increase of lung cancer diagnoses could have been shortened and less detrimental to the American public. Instead the popularity of light cigarettes expanded the demographic of smokers to include many more women and teenagers. Consumers bought into a product they were led to believe was safer for their health, while in reality they were shortening their lives with every breath of the light cigarette.

Saul Shiffman, Janine L. Pillitteri, Steven L. Burton, Jeffrey M. Rohay, and Joe G. Gitchell, “Smokers’ Beliefs about “Light” and “Ultra Light” Cigarettes,” Tobacco Control 10 (2001): I17-23, Accessed April 6, 2020, www.jstor.org/stable/20207990. 44 H.A. Tindle, S. Shiffman, A.M. Hartman, and J.E. Bost, “Switching to “lighter” Cigarettes and Quitting Smoking,” Tobacco Control 18, no. 6 (2009): 485-90, Accessed April 6, 2020, www.jstor.org/stable/27798661. 43


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Appendix of Images

Image 1: Pollay, R. W., and T. Dewhirst. “The Dark Side of Marketing Seemingly ‘Light’ Cigarettes: Successful Images and Failed Fact.” Tobacco Control 11 (2002): i18–i31. www.jstor.org/stable/20208001.

Image 2: Pollay, R. W., and T. Dewhirst. “The Dark Side of Marketing Seemingly ‘Light’ Cigarettes: Successful Images and Failed Fact.” Tobacco Control 11 (2002): i18–i31. www.jstor.org/stable/20208001.


This content downloaded from 137.155.255.250 on Sat, 04 Jul 2020 15:12:37 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms

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Image 3: Breslow, Lester. “Cigarette Smoking and Health.” Public Health Reports (1974-) 95, no. 5 (1980): 45155. Accessed February 19, 2020. www. jstor.org/stable/4596358.

Image 4: Pollay, R. W., and T. Dewhirst. “The Dark Side of Marketing Seemingly ‘Light’ Cigarettes: Successful Images and Failed Fact.” Tobacco Control 11 (2002): i18–i31. www.jstor. org/stable/20208001.


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Bibliography Primary Sources Breslow, Lester. “Cigarette Smoking and Health.” Public Health Reports (1974-) 95, no. 5 (1980): 451-55. Accessed February 19, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/4596358. “CIGARETTES RATED ON TAR, NICOTINE: F.T.C. IN ‘17TH LISTING GIVES CONTENT OF 145 BRANDS.” New York Times (1923-Current File), Apr 24, 1976. https://0-search-proquest-com.read.cnu.edu/docview/122691570?accountid=10100. Dougherty, Philip. “Advertising: Inside a Menthol Cigarette Campaign.” New York Times (1923Current File), Mar 31, 1977. https://0-search-proquest-com.read.cnu.edu/ docview/123476454?accountid=10100. Hammer, Alexander. “Cigarettes and TV: Sales Are Strong Despite Ad Ban.” New York Times (1923-Current File). 18 Apr 1971. https://0-search-proquest-com.read.cnu.edu/ docview/119231914/8B3E06C5B9284A3DPQ/3?accountid=10100 King, Wayne. “Low-Tar Cigarettes Creating a ‘Revolution’.” New York Times (1923-Current File), Oct 30, 1976. https://0-search-proquest com.read.cnu.edu/docview/122837483? accountid=10100. Lohr, Steve. “Cigarette ‘Tar Wars’ Intensify: Light Brands Proliferate as Demand Soars Trend Toward Lighter Products ‘Low--Tar’ Cigarette Brands Proliferate as use Soars Pristine Presentation Changing Smoker Profile.” New York Times (1923-Current File), Apr 15, 1980. https://0-search-proquest-com.read.cnu.edu/docview/121386084? accountid=10100. “Nixon Signs Bill Banning Radio-TV Cigarette Ads.” New York Times (1923-Current File), Apr 02, 1970. https://0-search-proquest-com.read.cnu.edu/docview/119036753? accountid=10100. Pinney, John M. “The Largest Preventable Cause of Death in the United States.” Public Health Reports (1974-) 94, no. 2 (1979): 107-08. Accessed February 19, 2020. www.jstor. org/stable/4596047. Rutter, Richard. “CIGARETTE SALES ARE REBOUNDING: Decline Following Surgeon General’s Health Report Is Now Less Severe COMPETITION INCREASES New Brands Introduced -- Search for ‘Safe’ Smoke Picks Up -- Cigars Gain Sales of Cigarettes Regain Strength After Setback Caused by the Health Report SMOKING DISPUTE APPEARS TO FADE Tobacco Industry Believed to Have Survived Crisis With Little Damage.” New York Times (1923-Current file). Mar 15, 1964, https://0-search-proquestcom. read.cnu.edu/docview/115722546/F46E159E33474C9FPQ/2?accountid=10100 Schmeck, Harold. “SURGEON GENERAL WARNS ON FILTERS: SAYS NONE CAN GIVE SMOKER COMPLETE PROTECTION.” New York Times (1923-Current File), Jul 14, 1967. https://0-search-proquest-com.read.cnu.edu/docview/117530202? accountid=10100. Silverstein, Brett, Scott Feld, and Lynn T. Kozlowski. “The Availability of Low-Nicotine Cigarettes as a Cause of Cigarette Smoking among Teenage Females.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior 21, no. 4 (1980): 383-88. Accessed February 19, 2020. www. jstor.org/stable/2136415. Teel, Sandra J., Jesse E. Teel, and William O. Bearden. “Lessons Learned from the Broadcast Cigarette Advertising Ban.” Journal of Marketing 43, no. 1 (1979): 45-50. Accessed February 19, 2020. doi:10.2307/1250757.


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“Tobacco Industry’s Peak Year: 523 Billion Cigarettes Smoked: 1963 SET RECORD IN CIGARETTE USE.” New York Times (1923-Current file), Jan 1 1964. https://0-search proquestcom.read.cnu.edu/docview/115538813/fulltextPDF/ F901A7CB831A4859PQ/1?accountid=10100. Secondary Sources Abernethy, Avery M., and Jesse E. Teel. “Advertising Regulation’s Effect upon Demand for Cigarettes.” Journal of Advertising 15, no. 4 (1986): 51-55. Accessed March 25, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/4622132. Capella, Michael L., Charles R. Taylor, and Cynthia Webster. “The Effect of Cigarette Advertising Bans on Consumption: A Meta-Analysis.” Journal of Advertising 37, no. 2 (2008): 7-18. Accessed February 19, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/20460839. Cohen, Joel B. “Smokers’ Knowledge and Understanding of Advertised Tar Numbers: Health Policy Implication.” American Journal of Public Health 86, no. 1 (01, 1996): 18-24. https://0-search-proquest-com.read.cnu.edu/docview/215103539?accountid=10100. Fairchild, Amy and James Colgrove. “Out of the Ashes: The Life, Death, and Rebirth of the “Safer” Cigarette in the United States.” American Journal of Public Health 94, no. 2 (02, 2004): 192-204. https://0-search-proquest com.read.cnu.edu/ docview/215092134?accountid=10100. Hanson, Jon D., and Douglas A. Kysar. “Taking Behavioralism Seriously: Some Evidence of Market Manipulation.” Harvard Law Review 112, no. 7 (1999): 1420-572. Accessed February 20, 2020. doi:10.2307/1342413. Hsu, Greta and Stine Grodal. “Category Taken-for-Grantedness as a Strategic Opportunity: The Case of Light Cigarettes, 1964 to 1993.” American Sociological Review 80, no. 1 (2015): 28-62. Accessed January 31, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/24756699. “National Cancer Institute Report Concludes ‘Light,’ ‘Low-Tar’ Cigarettes do Not Reduce Health Risks; Health Groups Issue Statement.” U.S.Newswire, Nov 27, 2001. https://0-searchproquest-com.read.cnu.edu/docview/450951787?accountid=10100. Pollay, R. W., and T. Dewhirst. “The Dark Side of Marketing Seemingly “Light” Cigarettes: Successful Images and Failed Fact.” Tobacco Control 11 (2002): I18-31. Accessed April 3, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/20208001. Proctor, Robert N. “Measuring Ignorance: The Impact of Industry Disinformation on Popular Knowledge of Tobacco Hazards.” In Golden Holocaust: Origins of the Cigarette Catastrophe and the Case for Abolition, 305-39. University of California Press, 2011. Accessed April 6, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1pnxdm.26. Reed, Mark B., Christy M. Anderson, and David M. Burns. “The Temporal Relationship between Advertising and Sales of Low-Tar Cigarettes.” Tobacco Control 15, no. 6 (12, 2006): 436. doi:http://0-dx.doi.org.read.cnu.edu/10.1136/tc.2005.015354. https://0search-proquest-com.read.cnu.edu/docview/1781897035?accountid=10100. Shiffman, Saul, Janine L. Pillitteri, Steven L. Burton, Jeffrey M. Rohay, and Joe G. Gitchell. “Effect of Health Messages about “Light” and “Ultra Light” Cigarettes on Beliefs and Quitting Intent.” Tobacco Control 10 (2001): I24-32. Accessed March 25, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/20207991. Shiffman, Saul, Janine L. Pillitteri, Steven L. Burton, Jeffrey M. Rohay, and Joe G. Gitchell. “Smokers’ Beliefs about “Light” and “Ultra Light” Cigarettes.” Tobacco Control 10 (2001): I17-23. Accessed April 6, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/20207990. Sivulka, Juliann. Soap, Sex, and Cigarettes: A Cultural History of American Advertising. Boston: Wadsworth, 1998.


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Tindle, Hilary A., Nancy A. Rigotti, Roger B. Davis, Elizabeth M. Barbeau, and et al. “Cessation among Smokers of “Light” Cigarettes: Results from the 2000 National Health Interview Survey.” American Journal of Public Health 96, no. 8 (08, 2006): 1498-504. https://0-search-proquest-com.read.cnu.edu/docview/215089979?accountid=10100. Tindle, H A, S. Shiffman, A M Hartman, and J E Bost. “Switching to “lighter” Cigarettes and Quitting Smoking.” Tobacco Control 18, no. 6 (2009): 485-90. Accessed April 6, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/27798661. Viscusi, W. Kip. “Constructive Cigarette Regulation.” Duke Law Journal 47, no. 6 (1998): 1095131. Accessed February 20, 2020. doi:10.2307/1373032.

About the Author Megan McNutt is a member of Christopher Newport’s Class of 2020. Megan graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. During her time at CNU she worked on campus at the Wason Center for Public Policy and spent a summer interning at a political fundraising and consulting firm in Washington, DC. Both experiences helped her discover her passion for political and governmental service. After graduation, Megan plans to return home to Alexandria, Virginia and begin her political career working on a 2020 congressional campaign.


“Colonization Over Catholicism: Spanish Priorities in the Conquest of Mexico” Rachel Morrison Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Bill Connell, Department of History

Abstract Numerous scholars have written about Hernando Cortés and the 1519 Spanish conquest of Mexico. They cite technological deficits or the idea that natives saw the Spanish as white gods ascended onto their land. My work dispels both of these common myths and the idea of Cortés’ perceived moral superiority over natives practicing human sacrifice. Through a careful inspection of the Spanish policy regarding the Papal Bull of 1493, Cortés’ first letter of relation, and the Spanish Requerimiento document it is clear that Cortés was motivated by the desire to claim territory for himself, rather than to further the goals of the Spanish crown or evangelize to the natives, as is claimed by Cortés and many subsequent scholars.


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The Requerimiento, or requirement, document acted as the introduction between the Spanish conquistadors and any natives they encountered in their conquest of the New World. The document superficially offered the indigenous people the option to immediately capitulate to Spanish power and religion. Otherwise they would be taken with force, as the document declared, “with the help of God, we [the Spanish] shall powerfully enter into your [natives’] country, and shall make war against you in all ways and manners that we can, and shall subject you to the yoke and obedience of the Church and of their Highnesses.”1 This was the means by which the Spanish legally justified themselves in their treatment of native peoples. If natives refuse the option to surrender to Cortés and his men, the Spanish could not be found culpable, by their own courts, for any ill-treatment of natives thereafter. Such a threatening introduction, utilizing the excuse of religion, set the tone for Cortés’ Spanish conquest of Mexico. Conquistador Hernando Cortés arrived in Mexico in 1519 shortly after embarking from Cuba in November 1518. He sailed with eleven ships as well as over six hundred soldiers and sailors under his command.2 His expedition was sent by the authority of Diego Velázquez, the governor of Cuba, to return Spanish captives taken into the inland Yucatán region of Mexico and to report on the landscape and natives in the unexplored portion of the territory.3 Through this mission, Cortés hoped to foster trade relationships with the natives, however, Velázquez withdrew support for the expedition before its departure.4 Nevertheless, Cortés embarked on the journey and landed in April of 1519 at a place in the southern gulf shore region of Mexico, which he named La Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz or The Rich Town of the True Cross.5 Some historians portray Cortés as a hero seeking to spread the Catholic faith, while others believe native theology or European technology led to the Spanish victory over Aztec, or Mexica, natives. Additionally, many historians credit Cortés and his fellow conquistadors with being motivated to enter the New World to take up evangelization efforts for the natives, while others maintain their efforts were led by a desire to amass wealth for the crown. As evidenced in his first letter of relation, Cortés uses the profession of religion and the Requerimiento to justify violence perpetrated against native peoples, in order to serve his primary motivation, which was colonization for his own personal gain. Cortés wrote many correspondences during his lifetime, though the letter I will draw from comes out of his “Letters of Relation,” to Spanish monarch Charles V, during his time in Mexico in 1519 to his 1525 campaign in Honduras.6 I will exclusively draw from his 1519 account of Mexico, known as the “First Letter.” Though in reality the first letter was lost and this is his second letter sent to the Castilian crown. These letters serve as one of the first accounts ever written about Spanish involvement in Mexico and constitute the principal primary source material of nearly every work written about Cortés and his Mexican conquest.7 William Prescott wrote of Cortés as the civilizing hero the natives of Mexico needed. Prescott’s History of the Conquest of Mexico was published in 1886, during the “Manifest Destiny” period in the United States, when Americans were seeking to expand the country from the Atlantic to the Pacific via the transcontinental railroad.8 During this era, adventure stories, such as Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn captivated American audiences with tales of travel and excitement; similarly, Prescott’s heroic account of Cortés in Mexico is one of an expansionist, echoing the popular sentiments of its day.9 Prescott stated that even the former Secretary of the Navy told him that, during the Mexican-American War, every warship was outfitted with a copy of History of the Conquest of Mexico, first published in 1843.10 American navy Lieutenant Raphael Semmes repeated this sentiment in his account of his own service in the war, wherein he alluded to Cortés as the “great predecessor” of the American cause.11 In the work, Prescott stated that Cortés and his men took the attitude of crusaders, as they “endeavoured to persuade them [natives] to embrace a better faith,” claiming the primary goal of the Spanish monarchy and cavalier, alike, was to impress Christianity, specifically Catholicism, on the people of Latin America.12


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The assertion of a “better faith” is an especially loaded phrase used by Prescott to illustrate his own bias on the subject of native versus Spanish religion. This idea is consistent with the ideas of the Spanish as benevolent providers of religious truth to savage peoples and shows Prescott’s inability to keep his own beliefs out of his account of history. While Prescott touched on the hopes for both riches and glory of Cortés and his men, he maintained that “there was nothing the Spanish government had more earnestly at heart than the conversion of the Indians” in the New World and hoped to “reclaim the natives from their gross idolatry and to substitute a purer form of worship.”13 These ideas of moral superiority, which Prescott seems to act as a proponent of, are similar to late sentiments famously expressed in Rudyard Kipling’s poem “The White Man’s Burden,” in which Kipling asserts it is the white imperialists’ duty to take measures to civilize the native people in their acquired territorial holdings.14 While Prescott’s history asserts the heroism and moral greatness of the Spanish, more contemporary scholars have developed further complexities in searching for the meaning behind and other motivations for the Spanish conquest of Mexico. For centuries, those discussing the Aztec fall to Cortés’ Spanish forces typically attributed the outcome to the white gods theory. This theory asserts that the natives of Mexico believed Cortés to be the return of their deity, Quetzalcoatl, whom they had been waiting for and thus saw the Spanish as white gods. The theory explains that Mexican natives were thus so awestruck with these so-called white gods, that they had no choice but to capitulate to them. Miguel León-Portilla’s 1962 work, The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico, paints the natives, even their leader Motecuhzoma, running in fear after hearing of the “gods [Cortés and his men]” on their way into the town.15 In 1993, Hugh Thomas corroborates this, in his work Conquest: Montezuma, Cortés, and the Fall of Old Mexico, as he believes there were enough coincidences between the Aztec deity and Cortés, such as the year Cortés appeared was said to be the year of Quetzalcoatl, that natives could not help but think of Cortés as divine.16 Thomas deviates slightly from the Quetzalcoatl myth when he asserts that there was another Aztec god in which indigenous people may also have mistaken with Cortés. This second deity, known as Tezcatlipoca, was known for bringing chaos, stirring up confusion, and swindling people out of their land. He was additionally known for his military patronage. Thomas claims that these similarities could have aligned the divinity of Cortés more towards Tezcatlipoca in the eyes of the indigenous people, though he asserts that whether Quetzalcoatl or Tezcatlipoca, the natives believed Cortés to be a sort of white god ascended into their land.17 Camilla Townsend’s article “Burying the White Gods: New Perspectives on the Conquest of Mexico” challenges the belief that the Mexican natives thought of the Spanish as anything more than foreign peoples. She asserts that the white god idea did not emerge until over three decades after the Spanish conquest of Mexico, in 1552 by Francisco López de Gómara, who had never even been to Latin America.18 Contrary to Thomas’s assertions, Camilla Townsend argues that the white gods theory seeks to oversimplify the minds of the natives, with the intent of portraying them as “too devout for their own good” in future histories.19 The idea of the simple beast conquered and civilized by Europe casts the Spanish much better than an account of them violently overtaking an unwilling adversary. Thus is the intent of the white gods theory, to cast the natives of Mexico as the naïve victims of a more enlightened foe. Cortés never wrote about himself being mistaken for any native deity, though he wrote many correspondences where he described in detail his encounters with natives. Published contemporaneously to Townsend, Matthew Restall’s Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest believes that this myth stems from the fact that Cortés was primarily concerned with immediate political, rather than long-term religious justification for his actions, though the Franciscans who later proposed the Quetzalcoatl myth endeavor to provide religious justification for the Spanish conquest.20 Ultimately, Townsend argues that the white god theory fails to take into account the technology gap between the Spaniards and Mexica natives, which she finds to be the most


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important cause of the conquest.21 Technology, including superior weaponry, horses, and immunity to diseases brought with them, Townsend deliberately asserts, should not be confused for higher-level intelligence. Townsend and Felipe Fernández-Armesto both assert that despite the superior technology possessed by the Spanish, New World natives were not at an intellectual disadvantage to Europeans, as evidenced by native advancements in other areas, such as the creation of accurate calendars and intricate metal and artwork.22 Additionally, in Conquest, Thomas asserts that the Aztec’s own approach to combat led to their downfall.23 In addition to a technological advantage, the Spanish had the advantage of fighting at a distance, using artillery. Natives were used to a more face to face form of combat, finding long-distance battles reprehensible. They also had little military structure and simply assembled to fight, while the Spanish had a more regimented hierarchy and roles in warfare. Furthermore, Spanish soldiers fought with the intent of killing as many enemy combatants as possible, while Aztecs sought to secure hostages for future sacrifices.24 This policy led to less deadly intentions on the indigenous side of conflicts and contributed to their ultimate defeat. For as much as historians debate the how of the Spanish victory in the conquest of Mexico, the why is an even more contentious subject of debate. In her work Ceremonies of Possession, Patricia Seed details the Spanish process of subjugation of natives, noting that “the Spanish created their rights in the New World through conquest not consent.”25 While other scholars, such as John Huxtable Elliott and Anthony Pagden, claim the Spanish conquistadors sought to gain new lands through conquest to achieve wealth and notoriety, Seed claims that the Spanish gained inspiration from former Islamic rulers in the country to declare a jihadic, or holy war-like, conflict in the area of the New World which they claimed.26 Much like the Islamic crusaders of Al-Andalus, or Islamic Spain, Seed asserts that Cortés and his compatriots truly believed that it was their duty, as the only “legitimate representatives” with the authority of the faith, to right the natives to Catholicism.27 Given this insight into the mindset of the Spanish conquistadors, clearly, native surrender was not enough but still constituted revolt if not followed by capitulation to Catholicism, in the minds of their Spanish invaders. Additionally, Spanish conquistadors were granted papal approval in their New World endeavors, though in his work, The Fall of Natural Man, Pagden asserts that this was due to the hope of Spanish evangelization to the natives.28 While the pope cared little about increasing the wealth of Castille, or any European monarchy, the edicts were also meant to keep the Spanish and Portuguese colonization efforts in separate portions of the globe, to stave off fighting between the two powers. Since this was an intention on the part of the pope, rather than a direct mandate from the Spanish crown, interpretations varied as to the limits of this perceived favor from the pope. Pagden explains that the pope offered his blessing, though with one major caveat, on the condition that they would Christianize the natives, without inflicting upon them “hardship or danger.”29 Pagden believes that the proactive warning against fighting with natives means that the Church foresaw the hostility to come in bringing the natives to the goal of reaching the Catholic faith.30 Though quite contradictory to Pagden’s assertion, one of the very same papal decrees to which he refers, issued by Pope Alexander VI in 1493, states that the “Catholic faith and the Christian religion [should] be exalted and be everywhere increased and spread, that the health of souls be cared for and that barbarous nations be overthrown and brought to the faith itself.”31 This statement from Rome seems to not only acknowledge the dispute ahead but welcome it in a Machiavellian act of exalting the greater good, namely winning souls to Catholicism, regardless of resulting conflicts. This directive served to command the priority of Spain towards evangelization through subjugation, rather than conversation. Even at the time of their issuance, the interpretation of these papal blessings varied, with one major factor being the implications of how the Spanish should treat the natives as


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they became Christianized and subject to Spanish rule. Priest and colonist, Bartolomé de las Casas interpreted the charter as one permitting the entrance of Spanish powers into the New World exclusively for the purpose of evangelizing to the natives.32 Las Casas, whom Pagden calls “Defender and Apostle to the Indians,” vehemently opposed the Spanish’s brutal treatment of the natives, asserting that because they were not yet Christians, they could not be held to the standard of Christians or punished as such.33 Though the Spanish monarchy had different ideas as to the proper treatment of subjugated natives. The belief that the only rights the Spanish had in the New World were to evangelize certainly did not line up with those of the Spanish crown or conquistadors, due to the monetary incentives both groups eagerly sought through the acquisition of new territory. While Padgen asserts that a “heightened sense of religious piety… swept Spain after [Queen] Isabel’s death,” as her will requested the “well and justly treatment” of the Indians, it ultimately did not supersede the desire to amass human capital.34 The papal decree of 1493, still gave the Spanish crown the authority over the New World and its inhabitants over two decades later, thus Ferdinand took this to mean that he was justified in making slaves of native peoples to serve the purposes of his administration. This interpretation of the command’s directive to proselytize, through violence and subjugation, in order to attain wealth for Castile, would become the foundation for Cortés’ conquest of Mexico. In one of his first documented encounters with Mexican natives, Cortés takes an authoritarian approach, though he leaves natives with his orders rather than a physical altercation. Cortés recalls how the natives his band came in contact with were urged by the Spanish to “renounce their heathen religion” and accept the faith of these new arrivals, without even a chance given to understand any facet of indigenous religion.35 Cortés goes on to say that upon the natives’ acceptance of Christianity the Spanish would peacefully leave them. Which they did, however, amity and nonviolence were not the case with the next band of natives Cortés’ party encountered. The succeeding group of natives, Cortés reports, were first pleasantly asked if they would permit their visitors to spend the night on their shore, to which the natives replied they would not allow them to leave their vessels.36 Undoubtedly, this angered the Spanish, who informed their unwilling hosts that they were now vassals of Spain and as such were obligated to be more hospitable to His Majesty’s men. The assertion that Cortés makes of calling these natives vassals of the crown contradicts the understanding, at the time, that natives must first yield to Catholicism, before being made vassals of the crown.37 This sequence of events clearly shows Cortés’ priority lies in expanding Ferdinand’s empire over expanding that of the pope. In the same incident, after spending the night in their beached boats, the natives brought the Spanish a meal and again requested that the Spanish leave their land. While claiming they did not seek a violent conflict, the Spanish insisted on staying to explore and learn “the secrets of the land... [to] send Your Majesties a true account of it,” presumably to decide if there was anything worth claiming for Spain in the vicinity.38 Additionally, Cortés reports that two hundred soldiers were dispatched for one exploring mission, which clearly shows that he and his men were ready to fight and begin laying claims to land, rather than simply take notes on the local scenery. True to their word, natives came armed with bow and arrows to persuade the soldiers, who had been warned numerous times to leave, to return to their ships. Unwilling to yield, despite the warnings and armed natives, the Spanish instead read the Requerimiento three times to their challengers, through their translator Gerónimo de Aguilar, and urged the indigenous people to capitulate to Catholicism and Spanish power in their land. Cortés recounts how he feels the Spanish were essentially forced, in the situation, to return fire, after “the Indians were most resolutely determined” to expel the Spanish presence in their territory.39 However, the fact that the Requerimiento was not read until arrows were already flying, shows that rather than actually giving the natives an option to capitulate, or being open


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to diplomatic talks, like those specified in the Requerimiento, stating that “we [the Spanish] ask and require you [Mexican natives] that you consider what we have said to you, and that you take the time that shall be necessary to understand and deliberate upon it [Spanish terms of Catholicism and surrender],” Cortés used the reading of the Requerimiento to legally absolve the Spanish of any wrongdoing or accusations of provoking violence, in the eyes of Castilian courts, rather than for the benefit of the natives they faced.40 In the middle of the fighting, after the third reading of the document, Cortés asks verification from Diego de Godoy, “Your Royal Highnesses’ notary, to witness that he [Cortés] did not want war,” which is then sufficient legal confirmation that despite his idea of an attempt to peacefully subjugate the natives, the hands of the Spanish were forced to instead fight natives for their capitulation.41 The natives had already made clear to the Spanish that any further attempt at encroachment on their land would be met with violent resistance, thus undoubtedly, Cortés did not expect natives to simply lay down their weapons and accept the Spanish intrusion in their territory, though he needed the cover offered by the Requerimiento, which justifies Spanish occupation of native lands, at least in their own minds. The Requerimiento, written by Spanish jurist Juan López Palacios Rubios, was created in response to Spanish clergy who claimed the Spanish monarchy was violently and unjustly inserting itself into Latin America.42 Using the papal bull of 1493, which granted Spain “the favor of divine clemency to bring under your sway the said mainlands and islands with their residents and inhabitants and to bring them to the Catholic faith,” Spain asserted that they were given the authority over all of Latin America.43 Thus, the Requerimiento informs natives of this authority, granted by God’s ambassador on earth, thus it is God’s will for the natives to concede their land to Spain, as a donation, “without any resistance, immediately, without delay… and that you [native peoples] acknowledge the Church as the Ruler and Superior of the whole world, and the high priest called Pope, and in his name the King and Queen Doña Juana our lords, in his place, as superiors and lords and kings of these islands and this Tierra-firme by virtue of the said donation.”44 Despite the many violent confrontations between natives and Spanish conquistadors, the Spanish justified themselves, using the Requerimiento, with the assertion that it was their land, endowed to them by the pope and God, thus legally, they were in the right. Though, Cortés did utilize a translator in reading the Requerimiento, so the natives could understand it, unlike others of his countrymen who read the document in Spanish, which natives were not able to understand. Though the quality of the translation is debated by scholars; Henry Kamen contends that “the interpreters themselves did not understand what the document said.”45 Although Cortés is guilty of having the document read at so far a distance, from his ships to the natives on land, that it is doubtful natives could hear it.46 Kamen notes that Spanish historian Fernández de Oviedo criticized Pedrarias Dávila’s use of the document in Panama, that “these Indians have no wish to listen to the theology of this Requirement, nor do you have any obligation to make them try and understand it.” Though for Cortés, whether the natives understood or grasped the seemingly preposterous concept was of little consequence, rather he needed to check the box of simply having a reading of the document performed.47 The Spanish authorities were so adamant about the use of the document that Cortés was even criticized at his residencia, or formal inquiry into his official actions, when he once failed to order a reading of the Requerimiento before a battle at Cholula.48 Despite the stated, primary goal of his mission being to report on the territory and trade with natives, in this instance, Cortés clearly seeks to occupy the territory of the natives and is willing to forcibly defend his perceived right to even explore the region. Additionally, he only introduces the concept of conversion to Catholicism, with the reading of the Requerimiento, during a confrontation and not in previous, more peaceful, discussions between the Spanish and this same native group. The Spanish won this skirmish, by having soldiers flank the natives from the rear, in


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addition to those fighting in the front. This maneuver shows the lack of military knowledge, Thomas discusses, on the part of the natives that the Spanish are able to use such tactics to win against them. Additionally, Cortés’ account that while a few Spanish sustained wounds, though not one was killed, verifies Thomas’s claim that natives fought to wound and capture instead of kill, thus rendering their fighting prowess less effective than that of their European adversaries.49 While native tactics sought to turn away the Spanish, rather than generate a high body count, their less than deadly methods did not deter their European foes for long. The day after the skirmish, natives brought gold trinkets and once again implored the Spanish to leave their land.50 Rather than leaving, Cortés insisted that the territory now belonged to Spain, as he had claimed it in the name of the crown, thus making the natives vassals to the crown and subservient to them, His Majesty’s representatives in the New World. Here, Cortés makes no note of introducing Catholicism or Christian principles, but only asserts the territory gain and vassalage of natives to Spain, not God or the pope. This omission of conversion not only shows that Cortés’ priority lies in acquiring territory to further his favor with the Spanish monarchy but also demonstrates how when not under immediate threat of harm, he is little motivated to evangelize. Cortés secures a “friendship” with the natives, agreeing to leave their land for the moment, after they agree to become vassals of Cortés, a lord of “the greatest monarchs on earth.”51 Cortés is clearly adding to his own empire, in this encounter, as he gains vassals for himself, in the name of the crown though not in the interest of Catholicism. Contrary to what they had promised, the Spanish did not leave this band of natives after the establishment of peace and friendship; instead, they stayed and asked the indigenous inhabitants for food, as they had depleted their own supplies. When the natives failed to bring the provisions, Cortés permitted a group of two hundred soldiers and four captains to raid farms and the local village to obtain nourishment.52 In doing so, the group of soldiers found themselves met in a precarious position, once again, with armed natives. During the ensuing conflict, Cortés sent reinforcement to aid his Spanish soldiers. The altercation resulted in the wounding of twenty Spaniards.53 Soon after this fight, Cortés readies his men to, again, go out and confront the natives, instead of leaving, as he had agreed to do. This time he ventured out with over three hundred men and a cavalry of ten mounted soldiers. Quickly coming across armed natives, Cortés ordered the reading of the Requerimiento, and had the interpreters assert that “we did not desire war but only peace and love between us.”54 Though this was quickly met with “a shower of arrows,” which Cortés would like readers to believe forced him to order his men to fight the battle that followed, rather than engage in peaceful negotiations, though fighting is what Cortés had intended.55 Cortés’ willingness to send an armed envoy into territory he had agreed to vacate shows that he had no intention of leaving the region, but rather his intentions were to further assert his claim to the land by occupying it. Upon examination, one can see how Cortés’ actions of sending two hundred armed militants to pillage the natives’ supplies when he could have left as promised, casts him as an aggressor, rather than a bearer of peace and faith. Additionally, in his second clash, Cortés was unquestionably the instigator, in sending out over three hundred armed soldiers and claiming that he only wanted to ascertain the natives’ location. Learning the position of the natives could have easily been accomplished through a small scouting mission, which makes clear the fact that Cortés sought out the fight. Moreover, having hundreds of armed soldiers behind you while reading from the Requerimiento document, outlining terms for surrender and Christianity, does not encourage peace, but places his adversary in a position of defense. After finally taking leave of the band of natives with which he fought no less than four times, Cortés sets sail to a new coastal port city in the territory, known as San Juan. Juan de Grijalva had already visited this region and traded with the natives.56 Thus they were friendly with Cortés’ party and had many valuable items to trade, including gold. Considering the wealth


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this group of natives possessed, Cortés thought it better to colonize the territory on behalf of the crown, rather than follow his orders, issued by Diego Velázquez, to trade and bring back any trade goods to share with Velázquez as payment for the voyage. Cortés frames it as if he seeks to serve His Majesty’s best interests in settling the territory to expand the Spanish Empire, when he actually hopes to simply further his own.57 Cortés convinces those in his party that Velasquez’s orders, which place Cortés in charge, no longer have any authority over the mission. Thus they find themselves in need of someone to govern the new colony, which Cortés calls the Rica Villa de la Vera Cruz. Unsurprisingly, his sailors select their captain, Cortés, as their “new” leader.58 Cortés is clearly putting his personal agenda first in establishing a settlement and solidifying his power in the settlement, over his rival, Velázquez. Throughout the entire interaction, Cortés fails to mention bringing the natives to Catholicism, showing that when he does not need to assert religion to further his rhetoric and get his way, he allows evangelization to fall by the wayside. On giving his account of his new Rica Villa de la Vera Cruz and the surrounding area to the crown, Cortés discusses the practice of human sacrifice performed by the local natives. He begins by saying those that have seen the human sacrifice ritual and what “they say” about it, acknowledging that everything he knows about the practice is “as we have been informed.”59 This is a crucial admission, that Cortés has not seen the ritual for himself, but is relying on hearsay to make his case about the brutal acts committed by natives. Cortés overstates the number of deaths to human sacrifice and disproportionately states the number of child deaths to make his case to the Spanish monarchy, that not only is he justified in conquering the Mexica people, but in doing so, he would also be saving them from their own savage ways.60 In Conquest, Thomas discusses how the Mexica viewed human sacrifice as the most honorable of deaths, noting that even the Nahuatl, native Aztec, word for sacrifice, nextlaoaliztli, translates literally to mean “an act of payment,” referring to a payment to the gods for a significantly better afterlife.61 Thomas also makes note of the fact that natives used human sacrifice as a status symbol, as warriors and lords were able to contribute such, while the poor had to settle for bird sacrifices.62 In addition to their own people, the Mexica often sought enemy captives from battle to use as sacrifices, which contributed to their failing war strategy against the Spanish. Despite his very limited knowledge of the practice, Cortés is more than willing to write with authority on the subject in order to further his own desires of conquest. This encounter is one of Cortés’ more vague entries, though he most likely designed it that way, intentionally to gloss over the fact that he has not witnessed the practice himself and to serve his personal goals of conquest. He discusses how the introduction of Christianity would cause natives to “renounce their false beliefs and come to the true knowledge of God… like any other people we have seen,” which leads one to question why he fails to tell this particular set of natives, of the Catholic faith.63 Though with many of the other indigenous groups Cortés encountered, he offered Catholicism and discussed his attempt to evangelize to them, even if the religion is not thoroughly explained. Yet here, he fails to even begin discussing religion with this group, instead he asks that “Your Royal Highness consider… whether they should put an end to such evil practices.”64 Thus, despite declaring he could easily bring the Mexica to his Christian enlightenment point of view, the implication is that he seeks monarchical permission to vanquish the Mexica people and obliterate the practice of human sacrifice, through imperial force instead of peaceful dialogue. Thus, Cortés clearly shows his motives are governed more by territorial gains than the advancement of Catholicism in the new territory. Cortés also capitalizes on the momentum the horror of human sacrifice practices is sure to elicit from the Spanish monarchy, in order to speak out against the Spanish-appointed Cuban governor Diego Velázquez. Their political rivalry was cemented when Cortés left Cuba, in the middle of the night, with his fleet, despite Velázquez’s revocation of his permission to set sail. Cortés, believing Spain will agree to begin conquering Mexico once the news of brutal human sacrifice rituals circulates throughout the empire, urges the crown to offer Velázquez


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no political positions or wealth from the voyage.65 Instead, Cortés hopes for the honors to be bestowed upon himself. Cortés claims he is looking out for the best interests of the crown, as Velázquez has tried to intercept and take for himself riches Cortés has sent back from his voyage intended for Castile.66 Though this report so closely follows the gruesome discussion of native ceremonial human mutilations, bloodletting, and sacrifices of natives, meant to horrify and demonstrate the necessity of instituting European civilizing control on the reportedly savage territory, to increase Cortés’ own gain rather than to win a victory for Catholicism over paganism. While scholars claim that pious righteousness, royal homage, and imperial devotion were the key motivating factors for Cortés in his New World mission, his first letter of relation shows that his principal goal was to colonize Mexico for his own gain. Cortés uses the Requerimiento to legally absolve himself of any accusation of wrongdoing with regards to his interactions with natives, by offering them the option to surrender, with every intention of forcibly subduing them if they fail to accept the terms, rather than actually using the document to generate a dialogue with or evangelize to the natives of Mexico. Despite his attempts to steer his rhetoric towards the religious well-being of natives, Cortés’ mission is clearly self-seeking, in attempting to establish his own colony, both for his own wealth and the detriment of his political rival, Diego Velázquez.

Endnotes 1. Palacios Rubios, trans. Marcelo J. Borges, “Requerimiento,” (1510), http://users.dickinson. edu/~borges/Resources-Requerimiento.htm, 2. 2. Bernard Grunberg, “The Origins of the Conquistadores of Mexico City,” The Hispanic American Historical Review 74, no. 2 (May 1994): 263. 3. William Hickling Prescott, History of the Conquest of Mexico, ed. James Lockhart (New York: Modern Library, 2001), 118. Cortés’ instructions were to retrieve six Christians (Spaniards), namely Juan de Grijalva, who were rumored to have been taken captive to the inner portions of Mexico, which had yet to be explored by the Spanish, thus this expedition offered a considerable opportunity for exploration.; John Huxtable Elliott, “Cortés, Velázquez, and Charles V” in Letters from Mexico, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1986), xiii. 4. Prescott, History of the Conquest of Mexico, 119-120. Prescott describes the conflict between Cortés and Velasquez, though he sides with Cortés stating that Velasquez granted him the authority to do so, though he also mentions that Cortés’ expedition left before they were scheduled to, in the middle of the night, so they could not be stopped. 5. Francis J. Brooks, “Motecuzoma Xocoyotl, Hernán Cortés, and Bernal Díaz Del Castillo: The Construction of an Arrest,” Hispanic American Historical Review 75, no. 2 (1995): 150. 6. Anthony Pagden, “Introduction” in Letters from Mexico, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1986), xxxix-xl. 7. Francis Augustus MacNutt, “Preface” in Fernando Cortés: His Five Letters of Relation to the Emperor Charles V, vol 1 (Cleveland, Ohio: The Arthur H. Clark Company, 1908), v. 8. John E. Eipper, “The Canonizer De-Canonized: The Case of William H. Prescott,” Hispania 83, 3 (2000): 416. 9. Mark Twain, Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Dover Thrift Editions, Mineola, N.Y: Dover Publications, 1998; Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Dover Thrift Editions, New York: Dover Publications, 1994; Nancy S. Oliver, “New Manifest Destiny in ‘A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court,’” Mark Twain Journal 21, 4 (1983): 28.


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10. Eipper, “The Canonizer De-Canonized: The Case of William H. Prescott,” 420; William Hickling Prescott, The Correspondence Of William Hickling Prescott, 1833-1847, ed. Roger Wolcott (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1925), 590; C. Harvey Gardiner, William Hickling Prescott: A Biography (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1969), 200-201. Despite being officially published to the public in 1886, Prescott’s rough first edition of History of the Conquest of Mexico was first published and circulated among scholars in 1843, according to Gardiner. According to Eipper, Gardiner is the last and most prolific biographer of Prescott. 11. Raphael Semmes, Service Afloat and Ashore During the Mexican War (Cincinnati: W. H. Moore & Co., 1851), 393. 12. Prescott, History of the Conquest of Mexico, 128. 13. Ibid., 127. 14. Rudyard Kipling, “The White Man’s Burden,” 1899, https://ux1.eiu.edu/nekey/syllabi/ british /kipling1899.pdf. 15. Miguel León-Portilla, ed., The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico, trans. Angel Maria Garibay K. and Lysander Kemp (Boston, Mass: Beacon, 2007), 35. León-Portilla spells the Aztec leader as Motecuhzoma, though it is more commonly spelled Moctezuma (Spanish adaptive spelling) or Montezuma (anglicized). For this paper, I will be using Montezuma, unless the source I am discussing spells it differently. 16. Hugh Thomas, Conquest: Montezuma, Cortés, and the Fall of Old Mexico, 1st ed., A Touchstone Book (London: Simon & Schuster, 1995), 184. 17. Thomas, Conquest: Montezuma, Cortés, and the Fall of Old Mexico, 185-186. 18. Camilla Townsend, “Burying the White Gods: New Perspectives on the Conquest of Mexico,” The American Historical Review 108, 3 (2003): 659. 19. Ibid., 661. 20. Matthew Restall, Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest, 1st ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), 113. 21. Townsend, “Burying the White Gods: New Perspectives on the Conquest of Mexico,” 661. 22. Ibid.; Felipe Fernández-Armesto, “‘Aztec’ Auguries and Memories of the Conquest of Mexico,” Renaissance Studies 6, 3/4 (Sept. 1992): 303. 23. Thomas, Conquest: Montezuma, Cortés, and the Fall of Old Mexico, 237. 24. Ibid. 25. Patricia Seed, Ceremonies of Possession in Europe’s Conquest of the New World, 1492-1640 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), 70. Seed juxtaposes the Spanish method of colonization with the relationship building practices of the French. 26. Pagden, “Introduction,” xlvi-xlvii; John Huxtable Elliott, “Cortés, Velázquez, and Charles V,” xiii-xiv. Pagden asserts that in order to rise above his social class, Cortés sought glory through exploration and conquest. Additionally, Elliott asserts that many Spanish conquistadors, including Velázquez and Cortés, competed for the ability to colonize land in the name of the Spanish crown to contribute to their own fame and personal legacy. 27. Seed, Ceremonies of Possession in Europe’s Conquest of the New World, 70. 28. Anthony Pagden, The Fall of Natural Man: the American Indian and the Origins of Comparative Ethnology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986), 29. 29. Ibid.; Alexander VI, “Demarcation Bull Granting Spain Possession of Lands Discovered by Columbus,” (May 4, 1493), 2. Pagden believes the source to be warning Europeans against inflicting “hardships or dangers” upon the natives, though the “Inter Cetera” actually encouraged Europeans to leap into their roles as carriers of religion without regard to the “dangers or hardships” they would face. 30. Pagden, The Fall of Natural Man, 29. 31. Alexander VI, “Demarcation Bull Granting Spain Possession of Lands Discovered by Columbus,” 1.


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32. Pagden, The Fall of Natural Man, 36. 33. Pagden, “Introduction,” lxv; Bartolomé de Las Casas, In Defense of the Indians trans. Stafford Poole (DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 1992), 55-56. 34. Pagden, The Fall of Natural Man, 29; Isabella I, “Last will and testament of Queen Isabella,” General Archive of Simancas (1504), http://www.spainisculture.com/en/obras_de_excelencia/archivo_general_de_simancas/testamento_de_isabel_la_catolica.html, accessed March 29, 2020. 35. Hernán Cortés, “The First Letter” in Letters from Mexico, trans. Anthony Pagden (New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1986), 18. 36. Ibid., 19. 37. Ibid., 12, 19. 38. Ibid., 19. 39. Ibid., 20. 40. Rubios and Borges, “Requerimiento,” 1-2. 41. Cortés, “The First Letter,” 20; Anthony Pagden, “Notes” in Letters from Mexico, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1986), 451, note 27. 42. Henry Kamen, Empire: How Spain Became a World Power, 1492-1763, 1st Perennial ed. (New York: Perennial, 2004), 96. 43. Jon Beasley-Murray, Posthegemony: Political Theory and Latin America (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2010), 2; Alexander VI, “Demarcation Bull Granting Spain Possession of Lands Discovered by Columbus,” 2. 44. Rubios and Borges, “Requerimiento,” 1-2. 45. Kamen, Empire: How Spain Became a World Power, 1492-1763, 97. 46. Cortés, “The First Letter,” 20. 47. Ibid. 48. Bernal Díaz del Castillo, The True History of the Conquest of New Spain, ed. Genaro García and Alfred Percival Maudslay, vol. 2 of 5, Cambridge Library Collection (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010), 154; Pagden, “Notes,” 454, note 27. 49. Thomas, Conquest: Montezuma, Cortés, and the Fall of Old Mexico, 237. 50. Cortés, “The First Letter,” 20. 51. Ibid. 52. Ibid. 53. Ibid., 21. 54. Ibid. 55. Ibid. 56. Ibid., 23. 57. Ibid., 26. 58. Ibid., 27. 59. Ibid., 35. 60. Ibid., 36; Pagden, “Notes,” 457, note 37. 61. Thomas, Conquest: Montezuma, Cortés, and the Fall of Old Mexico, 26-27. 62. Ibid., 27. 63. Cortés, “The First Letter,” 36. 64. Ibid. 65. Ibid., 37. 66. Ibid., 37-38.


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Works Cited Alexander VI. “Demarcation Bull Granting Spain Possession of Lands Discovered by Columbus.” The Gilder Lehrman Collection. 1493. https://www.gilderlehrman.org/sites/default/ files/inline-pdfs/T-04093.pdf. Beasley-Murray, Jon. Posthegemony: Political Theory and Latin America. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2010. Brooks, Francis J. “Motecuzoma Xocoyotl, Hernán Cortés, and Bernal Díaz Del Castillo: The Construction of an Arrest.” Hispanic American Historical Review 75, no. 2 (1995): 149–183. Casas, Bartolomé de Las. In Defense of the Indians: The Defense of the Most Reverend Lord, Don Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas, of the Order of Preachers, Late Bishop of Chiapa, against the Persecutors and Slanderers of the Peoples of the New World Discovered Across the Seas. Translated by Stafford Poole. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 1992. Cortés, Hernán. “The First Letter.” In Letters from Mexico, translated by Anthony Pagden, 3–46. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1986. Díaz del Castillo, Bernal. The True History of the Conquest of New Spain. Edited by Genaro García and Alfred Percival Maudslay. Vol. 2. 5 vols. Cambridge Library Collection. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Eipper, John E. “The Canonizer De-Canonized: The Case of William H. Prescott.” Hispania 83, no. 3 (2000): 416–427. Elliott, John Huxtable. “Cortés, Velázquez, and Charles V.” In Letters from Mexico, xi–xxxvii. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1986. Fernández-Armesto, Felipe. “‘Aztec’ Auguries and Memories of the Conquest of Mexico.” Renaissance Studies 6, no. 3/4 (September 1992): 287–305. Gardiner, C. Harvey. William Hickling Prescott: A Biography. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1969. Grunberg, Bernard. “The Origins of the Conquistadors of Mexico City.” The Hispanic American Historical Review 74, no. 2 (1994): 259–285. Isabella I. “Last Will and Testament of Queen Isabella.” General Archive of Simancas, 1504. http://www.spainisculture.com/en/obras_de_excelencia/archivo_general_de_simancas/ testamento_de_isabel_la_catolica.html, accessed March 29, 2020. Kamen, Henry. Empire: How Spain Became a World Power, 1492-1763. 1st Perennial ed. New York: Perennial, 2004. Kipling, Rudyard. “The White Man’s Burden.” 1899. https://ux1.eiu.edu/nekey/syllabi/british/ kipling1899.pdf. León-Portilla, Miguel, ed. The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico. Translated by Angel Maria Garibay K. and Lysander Kemp. Boston, Mass: Beacon, 2007. MacNutt, Francis Augustus “Preface.” In Fernando Cortés: His Five Letters of Relation to the Emperor Charles V, Vol. 1, v–viii. Cleveland, Ohio: The Arthur H. Clark Company, 1908. Oliver, Nancy S. “New Manifest Destiny in ‘A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.’” Mark Twain Journal 21, no. 4 (1983): 28–32. Pagden, Anthony. The Fall of Natural Man: The American Indian and the Origins of Comparative Ethnology. 1st pbk. ed., repr. With corrections and Additions. Cambridge Iberian and Latin American Studies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986. ———. “Introduction.” In Letters from Mexico, xxxix–lxxi. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1986. ———. “Notes.” In Letters from Mexico, 449-526. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1986.


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Prescott, William Hickling. The Correspondence Of William Hickling Prescott, 1833-1847. Edited by Roger Wolcott. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1925. ———. History of the Conquest of Mexico. Edited by James Lockhart. The Modern Library Classics. New York: Modern Library, 2001. Restall, Matthew. Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest. 1st ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. Rubios, Palacios, translated by Marcelo J. Borges. “Requerimiento.” 1510, http://users.dickinson. edu/~borges/Resources-Requerimiento.htm. Seed, Patricia. Ceremonies of Possession in Europe’s Conquest of the New World, 1492-1640. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Semmes, Raphael. Service Afloat and Ashore During the Mexican War. Cincinnati: W. H. Moore & Co., 1851. Thomas, Hugh. Conquest: Montezuma, Cortés, and the Fall of Old Mexico. 1st ed. A Touchstone Book. New York, NY London Toronto: Simon & Schuster, 1995. Townsend, Camilla. “Burying the White Gods: New Perspectives on the Conquest of Mexico.” The American Historical Review 108, no. 3 (2003): 659–687. Twain, Mark. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Dover Thrift Editions. New York: Dover Publications, 1994. ———. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Dover Thrift Editions. Mineola, N.Y: Dover Publications, 1998.

About the Author Rachel Morrison was a magna cum laude graduate of CNU in May 2020 with a BA in History and a minor in Political Science. During her undergraduate time at CNU, Rachel was a member of Phi Alpha Theta (history honor society) and Omicron Delta Kappa (leadership honor society). She interned with the Poquoson Veterans Project, which won the 2018 National Community Service Award from the Friends of the National World War II Memorial, through her alma mater Poquoson High School. She participated in undergraduate research through the 2018 Summer Scholars program and gave a presentation, titled “Morocco: Independence Through Propaganda,” at the 2019 National Undergraduate Research Conference in Atlanta. Rachel participated in the Disney College Program internship in Fall 2019 in Orlando, FL. She is continuing her studies at CNU for her Master of Arts in Teaching in Social Studies Secondary Education and hopes to teach high school history.


“The Devil’s Double: The Failed Individuation of Ivan Karamazov” Clara Page Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Margarita Marinova, Department of English

Abstract Individuation is the Jungian process by which one becomes a psychological individual. Though individuation ideally results in self-actualization and increased mental strength, the constant psychological pressures one experiences while becoming individuated present pitfalls that may ultimately prevent the individual from reaping the numerous benefits of individuation. One such pressure is the presence of the shadow, a part of the unconscious mind that houses aspects of the personality the individual does not wish to acknowledge. The shadow, volatile and powerful, may act as a destructive saboteur that consumes the conscious mind and drives the individual to insanity. Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov contains one of the most dramatic examples of failed individuation in the Western literary canon, as seen through the journey of Ivan Karamazov. Following Ivan’s three interviews with Smerdyakov, who psychologically weakens Ivan’s conscious mind and leaves him vulnerable to the influences of the unconscious, Ivan returns home to find his shadow manifest in a hallucination of the Devil. During the encounter, Ivan loses track of reality as his unconscious mind overwhelms his conscious and he concludes the novel insane. Had Ivan successfully individuated, he could have resisted his shadow’s influence and retained his sanity. Keywords: individuation, conscious, unconscious, shadow, sanity


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INTRODUCTION Fyodor Dostoevsky’s crowning novel, The Brothers Karamazov, forever changed the face of Western literary canon through its tireless pursuit of the meaning of good and evil in humanity, particularly through the tragic tale of Ivan Karamazov. Despite his sharp intelligence and considerable capability, Ivan undergoes horrific psychological torture that ultimately prevents him from saving his older brother Dmitri from an unjust prison sentence: twenty years of hard labor. Throughout this paper, we will explore how Carl Jung’s teachings of psychological individualism may have strengthened Ivan into an indomitable force, allowing him to successfully help prevent Dmitri’s sentence and granting both characters happiness. We will begin our study by defining key Jungian concepts, exploring their pitfalls, and conclude by applying them to Dostoevsky’s characters. Although many dismissively label Carl Jung’s works as unempirical and unproven, we may still use them to gain insights we may otherwise have missed. If we simply stick to proven evidence or statistical analysis, perhaps we would lose opportunities to grow and explore as intellectuals. Bearing that in mind, let us save Ivan from his solemn fate and begin our journey through his failed individuation. Through assisting Ivan, we may also determine means for assisting others in the real world, particularly those who suffer from severe hallucinogenic conditions. INDIVIDUATION DEFINED Individuation is defined as the process through which one becomes a psychological “whole”, or “individual” (Jung 275). Though achieving such wholeness in ourselves requires arduous effort, successful individuation results in the creation of an indestructible individual (Jung 288). If we were to individuate and emerge from the process completely immune from external harm, we would achieve a tremendous mental strength and rise to heights we never knew were possible for ourselves. For example, that strength would provide the means of becoming award-winning authors or olympic athletes. On a macro level, using our incredible mental faculties, we could cure devastating diseases, such as COVID-19. But what happens if one fails to individuate? Failure to individuate heralds drastic consequences for the individual and potentially those surrounding them. If individuation leads to tremendous success and achievement, both personally and for society, those who are unsuccessful individuating could find themselves vulnerable to self-sabotage and devastating failure. Such sabotage arises from the individual’s unconscious. THE UNCONSCIOUS DEFINED The unconscious represents the unknown regions of the human mind. For example, unknown characteristics, such thoughts we have not thought yet, future actions and despair are all hidden in the unconscious mind (Jung 279). Carl Jung tells us the unconscious is ever in a state of potential (Jung 279), occasionally unveiling its secrets, both beneficial and malevolent, throughout our lifetimes. The unconscious holds untold potential for good. For example, as children we discover we can do math quickly, a useful life skill. In times of great sorrow, we discover we possess great empathy for those who suffer, which inspires us to serve the community better. The unconscious also conceals humanity’s capacity for evil and destruction. From bloodlust to impulses to betray and otherwise harm others, the unconscious also drives people to commit atrocities on a daily basis. Awareness of the unconscious helps us quickly determine why undesirable traits suddenly appear, letting us correct our behaviors before they negatively impact our relationships with loved ones and our mental and emotional health. Open acknowledgement of the unconscious is useful for those suffering from serious mental health conditions. The unconscious frequently presents us with strange ideas and images (Jung 277). Often, strange and unbidden thoughts torment and bewilder the patient, who cannot make sense of the ideas they experience (Jung 277). When they try to communicate


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those ideas to others, they are simply written off as “crazy” and no one can understand them (Jung 277). Recognizing the existence of the unconscious could elicit more sympathy for those with mental illness and relieve feelings of isolation and despair, particularly those who suffer from hallucinations as a part of their illness. HOW THE UNCONSCIOUS APPEARS TO US AS HALLUCINATIONS The unconscious is a mass producer of dreams, visions, intrusive thoughts, and fantasies (Jung 283). Such hallucinations frequently display, at the very least, hints of individual personalities (Jung 283). Unsurprisingly, the fantasies the unconscious conjures all appear in “strikingly” personal forms and often under the guise of personal acquaintanceships and relationships (Jung 283). Many specific Jungian figures emerge from the netherworld of the unconscious while the individual experiences dreams or hallucinations, and while all are of great import to the human mind, our chief concern lies with the personality of the “shadow” (Jung 284). The shadow figure is a manifestation of the unconscious that embodies all the traits the individual does not want to acknowledge about themselves (Jung 284). Unfortunately, while we hope the unconscious and the shadow elect not to torment us, the conscious mind frequently falls prey to the unconscious mind’s influences (Jung 284). HOW THE CONSCIOUS AND UNCONSCIOUS SWITCH PLACES Particularly dangerous is the unconscious mind’s capacity to violently seize control of the conscious mind, forcing reason on the backburner while the unconscious becomes “autonomous” (Jung 278). People who experience the unconscious switching places with the conscious in such a manner find themselves prone to extremely strange behavior (Jung 278). Without the conscious mind in charge, we find ourselves vulnerable to both our own minds and the manipulation of others. In both scenarios, we risk the loss of sanity and autonomy. The conscious and unconscious can exchange roles quite easily. Strong emotions, such as love, hate, or grief, are enough to tip the scales between conscious and unconscious (Jung 278). When the unconscious overwhelms the conscious, it is impossible to individuate. A balance between the reasonable conscious and chaotic unconscious must occur to forge the individual into an indestructible whole (Jung 288), like a blade between whetstones. If we fail to achieve the balance, we not only lose the opportunity of becoming truly strong people, but also risk losing our sanity. Now that we have the necessary tools, we may proceed through Ivan’s intense journey as he stumbles along the path to failed individuation. THE MANIPULATION OF SMERDYAKOV Ivan’s catastrophic downfall begins with three visits with his illegitimate half-brother, the sinister Smerdyakov. While we meet Smerdyakov relatively early on in The Brothers Karamazov, we largely dismiss him as simply a household servant to Fyodor. Not until Ivan’s fateful interviews with him do we truly begin to understand the importance of his character. Our hero continuously dismisses Smerdyakov, previously a would-be disciple to Ivan’s teachings, as unintelligent and irrelevant. That changes over the course of the three meetings, wherein Smerdyakov whips the surging cauldron of Ivan’s unconscious into an agitated state and forces him to the precipice of insanity. Smerdyakov’s weapon of choice is guilt, and put together, Ivan’s three meetings with him constitute one of the most comprehensive studies of guilt in the Western literary canon (“Varieties of Guilty Experience” 115). Were any of us to encounter such vicious manipulation, we too stand the chance of our mental defenses weakening as Ivan’s do throughout these chapters. Smerdyakov’s siege commences with Ivan’s first visit to his hospital bedside (Dostoevsky 605). We would hardly expect a hospital patient to be the impetus of Ivan’s downfall, though appearance can often fool us into underestimating others in real life. Ivan also falls prey to such


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deception, leaving himself unwittingly defenseless against the initial phase of Smerdyakov’s attack. At the end of his initial encounter with Smerdyakov, we witness seeds of guilt sewn into Ivan’s mind upon his departure: “And since you won’t testify about that [Smerdyakov’s ability to fake epileptic fits]...I also will not report the whole of our conversation by the gate that time…” (Dostoevsky 609). Ivan’s suspicion of Smerdyakov’s cryptic reassurance does not immediately sink in. Instead, Ivan departs from the patient’s bedside, only pausing when he feels that Smerdyakov’s words may have held some ulterior negative meaning, though quickly thereafter dismisses the encounter as “foolishness” (Dostoevsky 610). At this point, Smerdyakov’s words act as a mild irritant in Ivan’s unconscious, but his irritation primes him as a ready target for Smerdyakov’s next stage of attack. At the beginning of the second meeting, Smerdyakov wastes no time accusing Ivan that he, fully aware of the impending crime, abandoned Fyodor Pavlovich to be murdered (Dostoevsky 614). Ivan, shocked, barely has time to recover before Smerdyakov snidely cites Ivan’s departure from home as “anticipation” of, and unofficial permission to commit, the murder (Dostoevsky 616). Ivan, “gnashing his teeth” (Dostoevsky 616), rapidly denies Smerdyakov’s claims and asserts his innocence, though his body betrays the nightmare of emotions swirling in his heart and flees the scene trembling and in turmoil (Dostoevsky 617). Up until now, Ivan keeps his emotions relatively in check, but beginning with this passage we can see the initial stages of the emotional agitation capable of upsetting the balance between conscious and unconscious. And after the second meeting, Ivan’s churning, upset unconscious begins to boil over into his conscious mind. In the aftermath of the second meeting, Ivan’s mind whirls with sudden self-doubt. While he anxiously questions why he abandoned his father’s house, his unconscious catapults a long-forgotten memory to the fore of his imagination. As though “pierced through” (Dostoevsky 617), Ivan recalls the precise moment he decided to allow his brother Dmitri and Fyodor Pavlovich to destroy one another without interfering. Here we begin to witness guilt painfully crawl from the unconscious to the conscious, conjuring painful memories as it does. We often experience such intrusive thoughts, apparently at random, but if we recall from earlier, the unconscious houses aspects of the mind we have no knowledge of until revealed. With shocking clarity, Ivan thinks he realizes he did expect the murder - and not only expect, desired it (Dostoevsky 617). The guilt Ivan encounters upon his realization places him in a supremely vulnerable psychological state. Not thinking rationally because of his tumultuous emotions, our hero can easily be taken advantage of. Many of us also find ourselves mentally vulnerable when emotions run high, and wise choices rarely ensue. Such vulnerability creates chinks in Ivan’s mental armor and primes him to continue succumbing to his unconscious during his third visit with Smerdyakov. At the beginning of the visit, Smerdyakov offers a respite to Ivan from his guilt. “Go home, it was not you that killed him.” (Dostoevsky 623). Startled, Ivan cautiously agrees, only to be plunged back into torment when the illegitimate son snidely asks, “You know?” (Dostoevsky 623). Ivan, tortured, demands clarity from Smerdyakov, who crushes him with, “Well, it was you who killed him in that case…” (Dostoevsky 623). Smerdyakov’s words strike such a blow that Ivan sinks into a chair, physically weakened. Seeing his opportunity to finish Ivan off, Smerdyakov confirms he not only committed the murder, but proves Ivan is the truly guilty party since he knew of the murder plans but nonetheless departed town (Dostoevsky 627). Already haunted by the guilt Smerdyakov planted in his unconscious, Ivan crumbles, his conscious eviscerated. “‘Why, why am I the murderer? Oh, God!’ Ivan finally could not bear it…” (Dostoevsky 627). At this point, we see Ivan begin to succumb to his own emotions emerging from his unconscious. Under such circumstances, we might also fall victim to the torment of our minds, particularly the unconscious mind’s vicious manipulation. Already stripped of his mental armor, Ivan is ill equipped for further psychological torture. But the psychological drama


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unfolds further as we journey closer to Ivan’s doom. At this moment, we witness the dramatic emergence of Ivan’s shadow. THE DEVIL AS SHADOW Enter Ivan’s demonic shadow, a vital step on Ivan’s journey towards failed individuation. Given the Devil is a reflection of Ivan himself (Bullivant 27), we may break down his personality as it relates to Ivan’s character and observe how he is perfectly crafted for Ivan’s doom. Were we to encounter our own shadows in an equally dramatic fashion, we also risk capitulating from sanity to insanity. Ivan returns, shell shocked and overwhelmed, to his dwelling to find an unexpected visitor awaiting him there. Dressed in well-made but outdated clothes, a “Russian gentleman, no longer young” (Dostoevsky 635) lounges on Ivan’s sofa, perfectly at home. We perceive the Devil as polite and “pleasantly congenial” (Stoeber 38), if not odd and a bit foppish (Bullivant 27), an indicator Ivan hates his own capacity for silly behavior and outwardly crushes it. Though demonic, Ivan’s shadow appears to him in human form, reflective of Ivan’s belief that humanity is a creation made in the Devil’s image and not God’s (“The Brothers Karamazov: Book 5.” 605). We extrapolate from that detail Ivan’s self-loathing for his own status as part of humanity, serving to agitate his swirling mind further. Armed with intimate information of Ivan’s character, the Devil builds himself into an enormously real figure in Ivan’s mind despite being his hallucination. Through the Devil’s conversation with Ivan, we witness Ivan’s overactive unconscious rise and consume his conscious. IVAN’S CONSCIOUS AND UNCONSCIOUS EXCHANGE PLACES We now arrive at the last critical step along Ivan’s grim path. The shadow, or Dostoevskian double in our study, always appears to a character at moments of intense moral crisis and heralds a rapid descent from the conscious into the unconscious (Bullivant 20). If not careful, our own unconscious minds can easily consume us, causing us to share the fate of tragic insanity Ivan suffers. Initially, Ivan fully realizes the Devil is his own hallucination and the “embodiment of myself, but of one specific side of me [the side Ivan dislikes]...” (Dostoevsky 637). But slowly, the Devil builds up his own character in Ivan’s mind, using a facade of silliness to lure Ivan into a false sense of security. That ultimately allows the Devil to spring his trap while leaving Ivan no chance to defend himself. For example, the Devil speaks of his dream to become “incarnate... in some fat, two-hundred-and-fifty-pound merchant’s wife…” (Dostoevsky 639). The imagery the Devil choses presents us with a ridiculous image, but is nonetheless easy to imagine. Ivan easily scoffs off the Devil’s dream, but now retains that image in his imagination and unwittingly begins to associate the Devil with tangible reality. Careful not to get ahead of himself, the Devil downplays his power over Ivan’s mind and refers to himself as Ivan’s “nightmare and nothing more” (Dostoevsky 639). Here emerges a tragic irony: Ivan reveals to us he knows the Devil’s goal is to convince him he exists to gain control of his conscious mind (Dostoevsky 639). Ivan’s ultimate failure becomes even more poignant when we realize he recognized his descent, but still failed to prevent it. As the Devil begins his final assault, he wields for his weapon a concept that has tormented Ivan from the early chapters of the novel: the existence of the divine. A man of empirical truth, Ivan struggles with the notion of a faith-based worldview. Ivan once professed to knowing the difference between the factual world and the “unconscious” (Vladiv-Glover 26) before ultimately rejecting the latter. Limited to a purely physical existence, we can see how the divine poses an irresolvable problem in Ivan’s mind. While appearing to support Ivan’s view of atheism, the Devil snidely hints at the existence of the divine (“Varieties of Guilty Experience” 123). In a grandiose speech, the Devil orates: “There is no law for God!...‘Everything is permitted,’ and that’s that!...” (Dostoevsky 649). Overwhelmed in the face of uncertainty and severely weakened from his time with Smerdyakov, Ivan capitulates to his mounting madness. Finally


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consumed with the fantasy of his unconscious, Ivan hurls a glass at his visitor (Dostoevsky 649) in a desperate attempt to stem the flow of torment. Consumed by his unconscious mind’s projection, we finally witness Ivan fall, powerless to resist, to his shadow. DEVIL CONSCIOUS AND IVAN UNCONSCIOUS Concluding Ivan’s encounter with his shadow, the Devil displays a greater awareness of reality than Ivan, perceiving Alyosha’s arrival on the scene even before Ivan (Dostoevsky 650). While the Devil urges Ivan to let Alyosha into the room, Ivan physically struggles to stand as if bound (Dostoevsky 650), now physically trapped with his hallucination. Upon finally bursting free of his imaginary fetters, Ivan concludes the chapter totally convinced it was a real encounter: “That was no dream! No, I swear it was no dream, it all just happened!...” (Dostoevsky 650). While Ivan began his encounter with his fiendish double convinced he was merely a hallucination, we can now see Ivan fail to distinguish between reality and the fantasy of his unconscious. If we recall from earlier, individuation can only occur when partnership exists between the conscious and unconscious. Without that partnership, the unconscious may overwhelm and irreparably damage the conscious, automatically causing us to fail to individuate and preventing us from reaching our full potential. The aftermath of Ivan’s nightmare encounter with the Devil wreaks havoc. Not only does he fail defending his older brother Dmitri in court, his testimony only serves to damage Dmitri’s character and Ivan ultimately concludes the novel literally unconscious (Dostoevsky 738). The literal incapacitation of Ivan’s conscious mind only exacerbates his failure. Completely lost to the depths of his unconscious, Ivan may not even witness the waking world around him, let alone engage with it for the betterment of others such as his brother. If Ivan, though previously one of the most intelligent and capable characters of the novel, fell into insanity at the hands of his own unconscious, we also risk sharing in the same fate if we are not careful. CONCLUSION Ivan Karamazov’s descent into insanity following his encounters with both Smerdyakov and his devilish shadow, thus rendering him incapable of individuating, serve as a cautionary reminder that the human unconscious is a weapon of untold power. Ivan’s story of failed individuation reminds us of the importance of protecting ourselves from external manipulation. Learning to distinguish between honest actors and manipulators, or between reality and the hallucinations of our unconscious minds, particularly for those suffering from mental illnesses causing hallucinations, is a vital life skill. Without the ability to shield oneself from manipulation, we could find ourselves in the same position in which Ivan finishes The Brothers Karamazov: not only unable to help himself, but unable to help his own brother escape a horrific jury sentence. Had Ivan individuated, he may have been able to both rescue Dmitri and go on to accomplish enormous feats in his own lifetime. So let us take Ivan Karamazov’s tragic tale as a reminder of the importance of protecting the self, not only for our own sakes, but for those we care for most.


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Works Cited “The Brothers Karamazov: Book 5.” Dostoevsky: The Mantle of the Prophet, 1871-1881, by JOSEPH FRANK, Princeton University Press, PRINCETON; OXFORD, 2002, pp. 600–620. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvx5wbc0.38. Accessed 19 Apr. 2020. Bullivant, Stephen. “A HOUSE DIVIDED AGAINST ITSELF: DOSTOEVSKY AND THE PSYCHOLOGY OF UNBELIEF.” Literature and Theology, vol. 22, no. 1, 2008, pp. 16–31. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23927423. Accessed 17 Apr. 2020. Jung, Carl Gustav. The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious. Translated by R. F. C. Hull, Princeton University Press, 1969. Pevear, Richard, and Volokhonsky, Larissa, translators. The Brothers Karamazov. By Fyodor Dostoevsky, Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 1990. Stoeber, Michael. “Dostoevsky’s Devil: The Will to Power.” The Journal of Religion, vol. 74, no. 1, 1994, pp. 26–44. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1203613. Accessed 16 Apr. 2020. “Varieties of Guilty Experience: PART IV: BOOKS X, XI, XII, AND THE EPILOGUE.” The Brothers Karamazov: Worlds of the Novel, by Robin Feuer Miller, Yale University Press, 2008, pp. 99–133. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1npgjr.14. Accessed 19 Apr. 2020. VLADIV-GLOVER, SLOBODANKA. “What Does Ivan Karamazov ‘Know’? A Reading through Foucault’s Analytic of the ‘Clinical’ Gaze.” New Zealand Slavonic Journal, 1995, pp. 23–44. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23806838. Accessed 13 Apr. 2020.

About the Author Clara Page, a member of the Christopher Newport University class of 2021, is majoring in English Writing with two minors in Business Administration and Leadership Studies. She is a member of the Honors Program, the President’s Leadership Program, and the Sigma Tau Delta English Honors Society. After graduation, Clara aspires to pursue a career in writing, and is entertaining working for the federal government as both a writer and an analyst. Eventually she hopes to use her skills and assist teaching refugees English and writing, either at home or overseas. Clara also hopes to become an author and share her stories with the world. Currently, Clara is honing her academic writing skills and plans to conduct research on Jungian Psychology and Western Religion in the next school year. In her free time, Clara enjoys reading, writing, cooking, visiting with friends, and playing the piano.


“Raising the Question of Being in Rousseau’s Emile” Moriah Poliakoff Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Benjamin Lynerd, Department of Political Science

Abstract This article raises the significance of understanding Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s ontology as an existential narrative. It proposes to read Rousseau’s Emile, or On Education alongside select texts in Martin Heidegger’s oeuvre. By examining key Rousseau’s concepts of “sentiment of existence” and the “desire to extend our being” it will pose them as fundamentally existential questions with implications for the history of ontology and conversations about living authentically. More concretely, I will then show how Emile’s way of life promotes a natural attunement towards one’s surroundings familiar to Heidegger’s work after his turn. The purpose of this article is show how reading Emile under Heidegger’s existential framework helps us come to conclusions about living amid the technological ethos of Western culture.


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I. Introduction In popular parlance today, we speak of “self-empowerment,” “self-reflection,” and the embrace of “individuality” as essential for human flourishing. In turn, we view “self-deception,” “self-alienation,” and the “fragmented self ” as not only psychologically detrimental, but morally and ontologically problematic as well. At its heart, this cultural dynamic arises from more philosophical inquiries about the fundamental meanings of self or being. Conceptions of justice, of duty, and of responsibility to others take their shape around the boundaries of self that one draws. The role of science and technology in the project of modern individualism offers something of a puzzle. On the one hand, technological advances, from medicine to iPhones, are largely driven by demand for the tools of self-empowerment. On the other hand, many worry that contemporary technological amenities are driving us further from ourselves, acting as barriers to honest introspection. This latter concern, in fact, has vexed philosophers since the dawn of the scientific age. Two thinkers not normally paired together, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Martin Heidegger, closely examine the barriers to self-realization brought on not just by science and technology, but by the entire ontological framework that drives them. Rousseau and Heidegger challenge modern assumptions concerning what it even means to be in the position to contemplate questions about being. In essence, determining what form that questioning should take is, ultimately, the task of this article. Modernity and its Discontents It is hard to overstate the radical nature of both Rousseau’s and Heidegger’s claims over and against their respective historical contexts. Both were dismayed with the prevailing developments in Western metaphysics. Rousseau challenged widely celebrated epistemic and political discoveries born out of Enlightenment thought, and Heidegger was the provocative interlocuter to the emergence of Western technological culture that materialized as a result of 18th and 19th century scientism. Over the course of the Enlightenment, Rousseau bemoaned the prospect of man reduced to a mechanical structure composed of springs, bands, and joints that gave it motion.1 Ultimately, this kind of man is empty; he is “nothing.”2 Rousseau’s critique was not that an empiricist-driven philosophical paradigm was factually incorrect, but that it gave rise to two ill effects: First, it led man to accept a kind of bodily and spiritual dependence on others, and

The full Hobbesian formula can be found in Chapter I “Of Man.” In direct dialogue with Hobbes, Rousseau rejects several core premises of his philosophy. First, Hobbes affirmed the primacy of mechanical or material existence. Second, what this kind of philosophy implied was that the proper ends for humans and the proper ordering of cities ought to be merely aimed at a base set of expectations. No summum bonum, or “greatest good” for the human being left a fragmented and dependent individual. See Thomas Hobbes, and E. M. Curley. Leviathan: with selected variants from the Latin edition of 1668. (Indianapolis: Hackett Pub. Co., 1994), 3. 2 Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile or On Education, trans. Allan Bloom (New York: Basic Books, 1979), 40. Cooper and Melzer make note of this existential language. See “Between Eros and Will to Power: Rousseau and “The Desire to Extend Our Being” The American Political Science Review 98, no. 1 (2004): 106; See also Melzer “Rousseau and the Problem of Bourgeois Society.” The American Political Science Review 74, no. 4 (1980): 1021. 1


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second, it launched him into a quest to attain complete mastery of the human condition.3 Rousseau was interested in the perfection of man, but one arrived at through vastly different and assumptions. To perfect man, Rousseau held that we needed to be weary of his artificially promoted by society.4 In turn, Rousseau advocated for a return to a philosophy of simplicity, autonomy, and authenticity. More than a century later, Heidegger responded to an acceleration of the empiricism that had progressed after Rousseau.5 “Technoscience,”6 as Heidegger mournfully dubbed it, came to dominate the 20th Century landscape of the West. It was characterized by a distinctive attitude: the instrumental use of objects and people, seeing them as mere resources in the world. A rediscovery and reawaking of a buried question posed once posed by the Ancients, the question of Being,7 arose for Heidegger and parallels Rousseau’s quest to re-think man’s happiness. Significantly, the answers to both their questions lay within ontology, markedly in its poetic form. II. Existence as Man’s First Sentiment “To live is not to breathe; it is to act… to make use of all of the parts that give us the sentiment of existence.”8 The sentiment of existence, in contrast to the Hobbesian formulation, is aesthetic. It invokes a higher, more poetic interpretation of selfhood. This sentiment inaugurates, in fact, what one might call Rousseau’s philosophy of

Richard Velkey, Being After Rousseau: Philosophy and Culture in Question. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2002), 1. 4 Rousseau makes a distinction between natural and civil man. “Natural man is entirely for himself. He is numerical unity, the absolute whole which is relative only to itself or its kind. Civil man is only a fractional unity dependent on the denominator; his value is determined by his relation to the whole, which is the social body.” See Emile, 39. 5 In a nutshell, Heidegger sought to revive the essential question of metaphysics (the question of Being) over against the derivate “history of Western metaphysics” to which he refers in “What is Metaphysics?” For a concise introduction to Heidegger’s thinking see Martin Heidegger, “General Introduction: The Question of Being” in Basic Writings from Being and Time (1927) to The Task of Thinking (1964) ed. by David F. Krell. (New York: Harper & Row, 1976), 17. 6 Technoscience, to which Heidegger refers in numerous pieces, in its modern expression of truth, privileges its own methodology as exclusive; truth becomes spoken of only in terms of instrumentality. See Heidegger’s “The Question Concerning Technology,” “The Age of the World Picture,” and “Origin of the Work of Art,” among others. 7 Being has traditionally been interpreted as simple or too profound. If treated, it was generally interpreted as a that (predicate of existence) or a what (a predetermined essence). For Heidegger, Being is a question first and foremost for beings. Avoiding the ontological jump from being (Seinde) to Being (Sein), he asserts that Being is disclosed only through the lived, temporal question of Being. Within the context of time, we ask why we are here, and the world emerges as significance. 8 Rousseau, Emile 42. 3


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being or philosophy of existence.9 Literally translated as le sentiment de l’existence, this concept has been traditionally understood simply as man’s feeling that he is alive. I propose to go further with this analysis. Not only is Rousseau’s description critical to understanding his thought, but most significantly for this article, his theory propounds that our most basic sentiments play a tremendous role ontologically speaking. Rousseau’s decision to give primacy to what Kant will later call phenomena over against noumena, is the same kind of advance that Heidegger makes in his analytic of Being.10 What is this phenomena that Rousseau proposes to explore? Rousseau’s natural man begins by feeling that he exists; or his thatness.11 It is not existence as abstraction that is of issue; it is one’s very own existence that one senses.12 Indeed, what is distinctive about man is that he arrives on the scene as an entity that is perceived for himself by himself without a priori knowledge of a higher moral or divine law. Rousseau’s thatness does not attempt to say what he is but only that he is a being for whom his appearance is an issue. Rousseau calls this man’s “sentiment of existence.” For Heidegger, Dasein13 is, most importantly, exactly this kind of interrogation. Primarily, man is present in the exact sense that he stands out in a meaningful relationship with that very question of Being. It is only after the event or appearing of Being that man steps back to abstract or theorize about things as this or that particular object. Significantly, Dasein is not a “concrete possible idea of existence,”14 which is an important distinction to make and coincides with Rousseau’s descriptive parlance. Neither Heidegger’s Being or Rousseau’s sentiment are physical properties that one possesses at a given time. Similarly, the self is not a Cartesian subject acting upon an object, which would then objectify the feeling and make it an other; it is an emergent event. The sentiment is more akin to an event where the “feeling of consciousness dissolves back into nature,” put another way, “the merging of subject and object.”15 Further, neither Rousseau’s sentiment of existence nor Heidegger’s Being are external calls from authority or God; the experience of being-there cannot

Among scholars, Rousseau’s “sentiment of existence” is an established concept central to Rousseau’s philosophy. See Melzer’s The Natural Goodness of Man, Kelly’s The Rousseauian Mind, Gauthier’s Rousseau: The Sentiment of Existence, Grace’s “The restlessness of ‘being’ Rousseau’s protean sentiment of existence,” and Burgelin, P. La philosophie de l’existence de J.-J. Rousseau. As Burgelin puts it, Rousseau found traditional metaphysics inadequate to explain human existence but without being able to replace it with a “philosophy of existence.” 10 For Kant, the phenomena have to do with things as they appear while noumena deals with things in themselves (something we do not have access to). Heidegger moves around Kant’s idealism by pointing out that phenomena are always partially concealed and unconcealed at the same time. 11 “The sentiment of existence certainly shows me that I am but not necessarily what I am.” See Melzer, The Natural Goodness of Man, 48. 12 For an excellent discussion of Rousseau’s method of “truth-seeking” as Socratic and Kierkegaardian see Neidleman’s The Sublime Science of Simple Souls: Rousseau’s Philosophy of Truth. 13 The condition for the possibility of Being at all is the kind of being for whom the question of Being is a concern. Heidegger calls this Dasein. The etymological construction of Dasein translates to “being-there” (da meaning there and sein meaning being) in German. With the emergence of an interrogative attitude, Being comes forth. 14 Heidegger, Being and Time, 69. 15 Paul A. Cantor. Creature and Creator: Myth-making and English Romanticism. (Great Britain: Cambridge University Press, 1984), 18. 9


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depend upon moral or ethical descriptors.16 Rousseau’s philosophical system builds upon this foundation, which in turn, is the basis for his political theory.17 A man whose identity is defined only in relation to another would be in constant flight from this sentiment, he would not think of existence as anything other than in terms of survival or necessity. Indeed, we must remember that Rousseau’s project, one of recovery, requires that we peel back the artificial bourgeois18 veneer in search of what is natural to us. While Rousseau’s sentiment is explored more formally in other works such as the Reveries, its manifestation, is particularly clear in Emile, or On Education. It is here that Rousseau shows how we might observe this concretely in a literary character. III. Emile, or On Education: Raising the Individual Like Plato’s Republic, Emile concerns education of the soul. And similarly, Emile should not be read as a literal prescriptive, but it is prescriptive as literature.19 Its composition as a piece of fiction commands us to think about the importance of its genre as well as its themes. To that end, we might think about the ways in which this structure is liberating, especially within the context of the traditional metaphysical writing of his time.20 Emile inhabits a space between fiction and philosophical treatise. Thus, it is perhaps more apt to call it a work of poetry.21 Great works of poetry, for Heidegger, raise the question of Being by invoking language rather than One might wonder whether this is a contradiction to Rousseau’s assertion that man is naturally good. To clarify, Rousseau’s goodness stems from this sentiment of existence wherein man’s understanding of goodness is precisely his ability to be for himself first and then for others. 17 For Rousseau, “good social institutions are those that best know how to denature man, to take his absolute existence from him in order to give him a relative one and transport the I into the common unity, with the result that each individual believes himself no longer one but a part of the unity and no longer feels except within the whole.” See Rousseau, Emile or On Education, 40. For a novel discussion from contemporary Continental philosopher, Alain Badiou, on Rousseau’s study of the being of politics see Alain Badiou. Being and Event. Trans. Oliver Feltham. (London: Continuum, 2005), 244. 18 For Rousseau, one of the grandest objects of his criticism is this bourgeois man, whose motivation, as Hegel and Hobbes characterized it, is fear of violent death. This refers to the Hobbesian formula in the Leviathan. 19 Reading Emile requires us to think about the importance of fiction itself as means to tout philosophical insights. 20 Think of Locke’s Second Treatise, Montesquieu’s Sprit of the Laws, Descartes’ Meditations, Hobbes’ Levi, or Kant’s’ Critique of Pure Reason to name of few. With the obvious exception of Voltaire’s Candide indicative of Rousseau’s resistance to the Enlightenment’s rational approach, Emile does not inhabit the traditional mode of philosophy. Moreover, his Confessions and Reveries are also deeply fanciful, but philosophical. 21 Many called Rousseau a philosopher-poet like Plato. See Emile, “Introduction,” 21-22 for Bloom’s interpretation. In conversation with Heidegger’s interpretation of poetry, poets are those who bring forth the truth, those who unconceal truth by naming things through language. See “Origin of the Work of Art” and “The Question Concerning Technology,” in Basic Writings from Being and Time (1927) to The Task of Thinking (1964) ed. by David F. Krell. (New York: Harper & Row, 1976), 198 and 317 respectively. 16


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using it as equipment. It is also the case that works of great poetry speak to a historical time, in attendance to the conventional paradigms of the day.22 Instead of starting with the question of beings and their relationship to Being, Rousseau begins with a being: a boy named Emile. In at least two ways, Rousseau teaches us about “raising” an individual. In its literal sense, Rousseau raises Emile to center stage, holding his soul up to the light of truth. It has been suggested that the primary intersecting point from Rousseau’s work to the existential tradition beginning with Kierkegaard is the primacy of the individual account.23 We see that for both Rousseau and Heidegger, philosophy can only start with a being because that is the kind of being for whom the question of existence first poses a problem. Moreover, the question of natural goodness, for Rousseau, can only be recovered by an individual for whom being good was an issue in the first place.24 Rousseau raises this question of our ontological foundations in keeping with great works of poetry. Emile is also an emulation of the heroes and saints depicted in classical and Biblical traditions. Moral and political traditions are inexorably linked to and informed by great works of poetry. The paradox, and simultaneous genius, is that Emile is intended to be the history of man, and Emile a saint or tragic hero for his historical age.25 Keeping both of these contexts in view, in its more colloquial sense, Emile is also the story of a young boy raised—in both a figurative and practical sense—by a tutor named Jean-Jacques.26 Emile’s training is not the kind you might find in a traditional child-rearing manual; it depends upon extensive deception on the part of the tutor. The central question that Rousseau asks and proceeds to pursue throughout his literary project is: “What will a man raised uniquely for himself become for others?”27 To be sure, Rousseau does not aver that the perfect education of man exists, but he aims to encourage attentiveness, especially to habits that might be deemed inauthentic. It should be underscored that Emile is not a work of psychology or anthropology in the disciplinary sense. Instead, to borrow the words of Michael Davis, Rousseau’s work is always an autobiography of philosophy, or an inquiry into the ontological origins of man.28 In this dual sense that Heidegger acknowledged—in both the naming of Being through language and its founding within history—Rousseau’s work re-awakens the question of Being. The Dynamics of Being In Book III of Emile, Rousseau takes the sentiment of existence a step further toward a more dynamic description of being. Once one feels the sentiment of existence, there follows a compelling desire to extend its reach. Rousseau describes Emile’s state of youthful strength as “the desire to extend our being [that] takes us out of ourselves and causes us to leap as far as is Heidegger, “Origin of the Work of Art,” 202. John E. Smith. “Rousseau, Romanticism and the Philosophy of Existence.” Yale French Studies, no. 13 (1954): 53. Accessed February 25, 2020. doi:10.2307/2929180. 24 This study also leaves open the question of morality. Here, it has only briefly been alluded to though its significance for Rousseau reconfiguration in Heidegger should not be understated. For it is in Heidegger’s view that the lateral, existential path can be just as steep as the teleological path upwards. 25 Bloom, “The Education of a Democratic Man,” 138. 26 Over the course of five books he explores this question, each book signifying a particular significant point in Emile’s psychological development, where Books I-III are dedicated to Emile’s childhood and IV-V introduce Emile into society. 27 Ibid, 41. A deeper analysis Books I, IV, and IV’s structural and thematic components is beyond the purview of this article. 28 Michael Davis, The Autobiography of Philosophy: Rousseau’s The Reveries of the Solitary Walker. (Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 1999), 12. 22 23


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possible for us.”29 Throughout Rousseau’s corpus,30 he uses the term “desire” in this expansive sense, reluctant to attach it consistently to particular objects. Rousseau’s understanding of desire is consistent with Aristotle’s usage of the Greek term, orexis (ὀρέξις), or to reach out.31 Moreover, unlike Plato’s teleological pull toward the Good, Rousseau’s is a non-teleological push to extend the feeling of being, noted by Laurence Cooper. Indeed, this reaching or extending is distinct from an erotic desire or pull by Rousseau’s account. Compare Rousseau’s dynamic to Heidegger’s description of Dasein as an “ek-static” being.32 Heidegger traces the lineage of the word “existence” to ekstasis (ἔκστασις). He tells us that we are always standing out in front of, projected towards, or displaced from ourselves. To be sure, neither should be understood as an urge to be God or universal; both ekstasis and extending being are simpler concepts. Additionally, there is a component of time introduced in both of these configurations. Temporally speaking, Dasein is in an ecstatic relationship between past, present, and future all at once. Dasein stands out dynamically and thematically looking toward the future, back at the past, while in the present. Similarly, Emile experiences an “overflow of his present being into the future.”33 Emile is so full of “strength,” as Rousseau calls it, that time itself seems to lose its fixedness. Emile is projected or thrown into the future by way of the present. Time, for Emile, is not sliced up into discrete sections. Time is experienced, not interpreted or studied. These are two distinct concepts, but they operate in a similar manner. Even in its protean nature, as Eve Grace shows us, the extension of being is fundamentally dynamic.34 It is simply, yet actively, is being-in-world35 where it occupies a position from which to inquire about the way in which one’s own being appears to be not to observable as static, but rather already onto the landscape of its future. In modern terms, we might think of both of these phenomena as reinterpretation or consideration of identity. In both cases, the ontological description seems to suggest that one can at once be something it is not. Through the advance of extension or standing out from, one indubitably finds oneself to be unified self. In other words, to think of oneself as a verb rather than a noun appears at once to contradict its very sentiment but in another and more important way, acknowledge one’s position as already ahead of oneself and in an orientation of reflection Rousseau, Emile, 168. See also pages 67, 159, 213. In connection with our desire to extend being, we must remember that how this is related to amour soi. As Cooper argues, that the desire to extend being finds its source in amour soi, like all other passions or desires. In French, amour de soi and amour de propre translate as the same thing but Rousseau means to tell us that there is a valuable distinction between the two. Amour-propre, for Rousseau is vanity and extends men’s desires beyond their natural powers and disunity occurs when men attempt to restore harmony by using other men as means. It gives rise to comparison to the situation of other men. While amour-soi is simply the desire to exist, where man takes pleasure in this fact. See Bloom, 148 and Melzer, 1025. 30 See Rousseau’s Reveries of the Solitary Walker and Confessions. 31 See Cooper, Laurence D. “Between Eros and Will to Power: Rousseau and “The Desire to Extend Our Being” The American Political Science Review 98, no. 1 (2004): 105-19. www.jstor.org/stable/4145300; See also Melzer’s discussion of memory extending existence (Natural Goodness of Man, Emile, 78). 32 Heidegger, “Letter on Humanism,” Basic Writings, 228. 33 Rousseau, Emile, 168. 34 Eve Grace. “The restless of “being:” Rousseau’s protean sentiment of existence.” History of European Ideas, no 27 (2001) 133-151. Accessed March 30, 2020. 35 One of Heidegger’s neologisms is “Being-in-the-World” or in-derWelt-sein. Dasein is always already being towards, or consciousness (of ) something.

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on one’s past. That is the paradox and ambiguity of Emile that allows it to be interpreted as an unconcealment of Being. What this projection means for Emile Rousseau tells us: it is “most precious time of life.”36 If that is the case, Rousseau’s entire philosophic project, not merely his recommendations for child-rearing, ought to be viewed in light of this key passage. In direct opposition to the other ways that we can orient ourselves towards the world, Rousseau presents a novel one. In opposition to Heidegger’s das Man37 and the negative effects of Rousseau’s amour-propre, this intentionality of being is felt and lived. For while it is not a basis for moral development in a traditional sense, it is existentially prior to all the other ways that beings can be in this world. Heidegger asserts that Dasein always stands out ecstatically toward our possibilities; it is not limited to a particular time or place. Significantly, both Rousseau and Heidegger use this as a ground to forge theories about the possibility for care and compassion.38 IV. A Natural Epistemology Neither Rousseau nor Heidegger advocate for a solipsistic existence in which individuals pass shuttered lives contemplating their existence to the exclusion of any other action. This would be to misunderstand both thinkers. As we have seen, extending being is always a dynamic activity, limited neither to empirical explanations nor logical proofs. Emile’s character allows us to experience, in concrete terms, what being ought to look like. Given the ontological priority awarded to Being, we will see that this requires us to understand what it is that is nearest to Being. By nearness, Heidegger means that to which we are directly indebted: the things that make up our place of dwelling: “Make your pupil attentive to the phenomena of nature… Let him not learn science but discover it. If you ever substitute in his mind authority for reason, he will no longer reason. He will be nothing more than a plaything of others’ opinions.”39 To avoid revealing his actual authority over Emile’s life, the tutor leaves Emile to explore and discover the natural world for himself. For Emile to feel the aesthetic weight of his existence, he need only extend his being into his immediate surroundings. As distinguished from introducing Emile to the prevailing opinion of the day or authority’s dictates, Jean-Jacques insists that Emile explore what is closest or nearest to him first. To be sure, therein lies another one of Rousseau’s many paradoxes: Emile holds radical freedom, but within a highly controlled environment. He has no knowledge of outside opinion or authority. He is free, but insofar that he does not truly know how free he is. The tutor does not leave him completely alone. Despite Rousseau’s aver that he hates books, Jean-Jacques allows Emile, 168. Dasein’s mood is consumed by the mundane and practical necessities and is “disburdened by the “they.” Das Man, or the “they” to which Heidegger refers is whatever the prevailing social or political opinion is. It is the “nobody” to whom every Dasein has already surrendered itself in Being-among-one-another.” Note the way in which this sounds familiar to Rousseau’s amour propre. See Being and Time, 166. 38 Rousseau uses similar language of extension and expansion in the context of compassion and Heidegger discusses leaping and looking out ahead for others in concert with care (sorge). While compassion and care are beyond the scope of this article, there is potential for a connection between Rousseau’s philosophy of compassion and Heidegger’s notion of care. See Emile 221, 223; See also Being and Time, 158. 39 Rousseau, Emile, 168. 36 37


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Emile to have one book: Robinson Crusoe.40 Rousseau writes that a child who reads does not think, he only reads; he is not informing himself, but learning words.41 The bestowal of this book is therefore significant in several ways. First, Robinson’s character exposes Emile to an example of psychological independence. Second, the novel allows Emile to see himself in and from the perspective of Robinson. Emile knew that he was not the only individual in existence, but reading the book enables him to look at himself as other, fully understanding himself. In this way, Emile is not fully insulated from external opinion. With Robinson Crusoe in hand, Emile is ready to encounter the phenomena of nature, not merely to learn nature’s constituent parts, but rather to allow nature to show Emile its significance to him. To teach geography, Jean-Jacques first shows Emile the city and his father’s country house, then the rivers that connect the two, and finally the sun’s orienting nature.42 Emile uses no tools to measure or map the landscape. Teaching Emile through experience allows him to understand the relational character of his home without holding the elements of the landscape as objects for measurement. The measurement of time, too, becomes meaningless, letting time regain its original meaning for Emile. His way of life “makes the passage of time always uniform,” never divided into artificial segments.43 In short, Emile’s reality is not sliced up according to the maximum use he can derive from objects. Rousseau’s treatment of epistemology is distinctive in its dependence on what Heidegger would later call nearness.44 Things that are near are not conceived in terms of spatial nearness. Rather, nearness is the gathering of the relations and origins of things that are near. Emile is taught to experience his world in terms of this nearness. Emile comes to understand that this perspective is not a meditative exercise but an attitude of sacred appreciation. Heidegger’s phenomenology attempts to explain how beings first come to objects in the world. What he says is that we do not, initiatively, perceive objects as instrumental in the ways that they are commonly viewed. Like Emile, Heidegger observes objects appearing first as interconnected parts of daily, sustaining life rather than as crude means to ends. Tools, if used, are conceived as co-responsible for the event of Being. Heidegger understands the essence of tools or technology to stem from technē (τέχνη).45 One can only imagine Rousseau’s reaction to today’s avalanche of technological gadgets, entirely instrumental tools for navigating life more efficiently. His distrust of laboratory equipment, however, indicates that his response would not be positive: “This whole apparatus of instruments and machines displeases me. The scientific atmosphere kills science.”46 The tutor plans for Emile are based off of wonder and corresponding indebtedness to nature: “Emile has only natural and purely physical knowledge. He does not know even the name of history, or what metaphysics and morals are.”47 Rousseau, Emile, 184. For an excellent discussion of the role of Robinson Crusoe in Emile as an exercise in self-reflection and awareness as Emile is allowed to observe himself both in fiction and from fiction see Schaeffer, “The Utility of Ink: Rousseau and Robinson Crusoe.” The Review of Politics 64, no. 1 (2002): 121-48. 41 Ibid. 42 Rousseau, Emile, 171. 43 Rousseau, Emile, 187. 44 Martin Heidegger, “The Thing,” in Poetry, Language, Thought. trans. Albert Hofstadter (New York: HarperCollins, 1971), 163-180. 45 Heidegger translates technē (the root of our English term technology) to mean indebtedness or responsibility. See “The Question Concerning Technology” in Basic Writings from Being and Time (1927) to The Task of Thinking (1964) ed. by David F. Krell. (New York: Harper & Row, 1976), 315. 46 Rousseau, Emile, 176. 47 Rousseau, Emile, 207. 40


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With the assistance of a crucial passage in Emile, we might come to understand the significance of these interconnected relationships in his natural surroundings. One day JeanJacques takes Emile on an evening walk: “One fine evening we go for a walk in a suitable place where a broad, open horizon permits the setting sun to be fully seen, and we observe the objects which make recognizable the location of its setting. The next day, to get some fresh air, we return to the same place before the sun rises. We see it announcing itself from afar by the fiery arrows it launches ahead of it. A shining point shoots out like lightening and immediately fills all of space. The veil of darkness is drawn back and falls. Man recognizes his habitat and finds it embellished. The verdure has gained a new vigor during the night. The nascent day which illuminates it, the first rays which gild it, show it covered by a shining web of dew which reflects the light and the colors to the eye. The birds in chorus join together in concert to greet the father of life. At that moment not a single one keeps quiet. Their chirping, still weak, is slower and sweeter than during the rest of the day; it has the feel of the languor of a peaceful awakening. The conjunction of these objects brings to the senses an impression of freshness which seems to penetrate the soul. There is a halfhour enhancement which no one can resist. So great, so fair, so delicious a spectacle no one leaves cold.”48 In addition to the poetry of this passage’s bucolic description, it communicates Rousseau’s perception of nature as at once dynamic, and interconnected. The passage is noticeably consonant with Heidegger’s thought in two ways: first, it exemplifies the power of physis, and second, it demonstrates how the tutor attempts to attune Emile to nature’s community. Heidegger’s conception of nature engages prominently with the Ancient Greek pre-Socratic, Heraclitus.49 In Heidegger’s essay, “The Origin of the Work of Art,” he relies on Heraclitus as a platform for a renewed way of thinking about nature. For Heidegger, nature hides, but also gives of itself; it resides in a state of “emerging and rising in itself and in all things.”50 This is how he translates physis (φύσις). Sitting upon the hills of Athens, the Greek temple (featured prominently in Heidegger’s aesthetic theory) fuses physis and world then “clears and illuminates, also, that on which and in which man bases his dwelling. We call this ground the earth.”51 Earth is not to be associated with abstract notions of astronomy or as a “mass of matter deposited somewhere. Rather, earth arises and brings back.”52 In this case, the earth is the Athenian hillside that gives the Athenians a grounding for their worldly paradigm. Dasein sets itself up upon the earth by establishing world, which takes the form of our prevailing historical, cultural, and political paradigms about the world. This establishment of world upon earth is a dynamic of its own, largely characterized by pain or strife. It is not dynamic in the sense of the cessation of physical or bodily pleasure, but rather as a self-hiding and corresponding revealing. The world wants to take from the earth, comparable to the dynamic of the unconcealment and concealment of Being through alētheia (ἀλήθεια). The discussion of earth and world culminates in the heart of Heidegger’s aesthetics: Ibid. Notably, another thinker whose work deals heavily with both Rousseau and Heidegger is Jacques Derrida. He “links Rousseau’s sense of ‘Nature’ to Heraclitus’ account of physis” see “Derrida and Presocratic Philosophy” in Derrida and Antiquity ed. Miriam Leonard. (Oxford and New York, 2010), 91. 50 Martin Heidegger, “The Origin of the Work of Art,” in Poetry, Language, Thought. trans. Albert Hofstadter (New York: HarperCollins, 1971), 41. 51 Heidegger, Martin. “The Origin of the Work of Art,” 41. 52 Ibid. 48

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art’s way of disclosing the truth. This includes language and poetry as well. In Rousseau’s writing, we observe the dynamic of strife between earth and world that is the topic of middle to late Heidegger works. Amid this pain and strife, nature also playfully hides itself from us. Especially striking is Rousseau’s description of this playfulness in his exploration of the dynamic between dark and light, where darkness veils and light fills, a powerful phenomenological description of strife between earth and world. Like a game of hide and seek, the earth is coy, not wishing to reveal all—and the world attempts to take from earth. The significance for Rousseau is that the earth is not merely a resource at Emile’s disposal, not an object for his use. Nature is a dynamic process in which Emile is a participant. Especially in Heidegger’s later works, he turns to poetic elucidations that center around art, nature, poetry, and language. Dubbed the inauguration of Heidegger’s later work is his central theme: the thinking of things, or the fourfold.53 Rousseau’s description of Emile’s environment essentially gathers together the components of Heidegger’s fourfold: earth, sky, divinity, and mortals. The fourfold takes the simple things around us and makes them the locus of attention. It provides an account of the thing as inherently relational and these things unfold themselves ecstatically, opening relations with the world beyond them. Heidegger thinks the German word bauen, or dwelling, in a deep sense and interprets it as a primordial way that mortals, or beings, stay on the earth.54 There is a notable reverence for the earth for providing this home. It only becomes home, however, after man names it, and he can only name it by bringing it forth through poetic form. In several of Heidegger’s analyses of German poet, Friedrich Hölderlin’s, poetry, he describes how poetry brings elemental forces into their thematic relationship with mortals.55 In Rousseau’s writing, the sun allows Emile to “recognize” other observable objects. The poetic force of light to draw beings closer to Being. Furthermore, light is necessary for the essence of poetry, or poiesis (ποίησις).56 As Rousseau notes elsewhere, “first men spoke poetry; only much later did it occur to anyone to reason.”57 Enabled by this gathering into the fourfold, man dwells poetically. In other words, when man acknowledges the relationality of the things around him, and how they help form a thematic relationship, then is he able to truly think. Heidegger shows us that building is, in truth, dwelling: “building accomplishes its nature in the raising of locations by the joining of their spaces.”58 Man does not dwell in such a way when he sees himself as distinct from the natural elements. Rather, he is integrated into his home, and natural phenomena serve as a neighborhood. This is the lesson that Jean-Jacques attempts to impart to Emile about the best way to live within his habitat. By understanding the interconnectedness of earth and world, he might discover the world. In the poetic interlude, Jean Jacques notes that nature organizes the landscape for Emile not once, but the next day as well. This context is not some sensational rarity; it is where man Andrew J. Mitchell. The Fourfold: Reading the Late Heidegger. (Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press, 2015), 3. 54 Dwelling is introduced in Heidegger’s essays “Language” and “Building Dwelling Thinking.” 55 Heidegger translates the Greek term poiesis, or ποίησις, as bringing forth or creating. This is the term that Plato uses in the Symposium in the discourse about the birthing of ideas. 56 Heidegger, Elucidations of Hölderlin’s Poetry. Translated by Keith Hoeller. (New York: Humanity Books, 2000) 61. 57 Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Essay on the Origin of Languages ed. by John T. Scott (Hanover: University Press of New England, 1998), 253. 58 Heidegger, “Building Dwelling Thinking,” in Poetry, Language, Thought. trans. Albert Hofstadter (New York: HarperCollins, 1971), 146. 53


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dwells. The sun, air, birds, and darkness, all related to one another, converge together and thereby emerge as significant for him. In this way, Emile will live mindfully, in acknowledgment of the way in which the earth and the world emerge together. Emile’s natural education seems to leave open the possibility of a Heideggerian interpretation of nature, especially in its interconnectedness. Heidegger’s thinking on poetry is closely related to his elucidation of truth or alētheia, which is the unconcealment of Being, or bringing it into the light. Dasein is constantly faced with the task of reaching out or bringing forth from what is concealed. It is in these moments that beings acknowledge Being more clearly. Nowhere is this more evident than in a child’s exploration of the world. The child reaches, often physically, into the open for the first time. For a child, life is constant wonder and discovery. In phrasing familiar to the Heideggerian tradition, wonder prompts one to reach out for the first time into the open region, or the clearing of Being. Rousseau takes up the task of demonstrating this concept by homing in on one child. One begins to discover the wonders and awe of the vast world during this age. This is the kind of education in which Rousseau is interested because it is the way that Emile will truly come to know things. For Rousseau, “nature wants children to be children before being men,”59 but it is societal convention and opinion that inhibits their natural development. Conclusion Plato’s Allegory of the Cave involves an education; in essence, it initiates a turning around of the soul. Paideia, after all, is a movement of passage, not something that can be imparted merely by directive or logical proof. The educational paradigm in Rousseau’s Emile offers us a glimpse into precisely what this kind of re-orientation entails within an individual soul. To be sure, this article only spells out a few lessons of Emile’s vast education, the others of which demand our attention as well. Through this particular inquiry, however, it does seem clear that a proper understanding or orientation towards being and existence as such are paramount for a good education. First, it is in the realm of ontological interrogation does the significance of being as existential emerge. Second, in this strange dynamic interplay with being, we find that it will not necessarily hope to achieve us tools for living comfortably but rather, living authentically. In turn, Heidegger’s ecological and poetic writings, affords us a way to understand how Emile’s education translates into a natural and concrete ethos. Through an attitude of mindfulness and care towards the local natural scene, Rousseau seems to illustrate a necessary counter to the kind of artificiality found in city life. This project, however, has its obstacles. The kind of deeper connection to being and nature seems to be a gift uniquely granted to a child. Perhaps this is one of places wherein the character of Emile, allows for the possibility of the reader both to learn alongside Emile, and at the same time, to critique its allegorical force. The importance of Emile’s youthful attitude in its curiosity, self-reliance, and mindfulness still appears operative for us today. In fact, its force almost seems radical and strange in the context of our busy and alienated modern existence. Indeed, a consumeristic culture that treats the earth and other humans primarily as resources from which to draw at will, without any other considerations, is in dire need of this kind of ontological education.

59

Ibid, 90.


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Bibliography Badiou, Alain. Being and Event. Translated by Oliver Feltham. London: Continuum, 2007. Bellhouse, Mary L. “On Understanding Rousseau’s Praise of Robinson Crusoe.” Canadian Journal of Social and Political Theory/Revue Canadienne de théorie politique et sociale, Vol. 6, No. 3. (1982): 120-137. Accessed April 12, 2020. Bloom, Allan. “The Education of Democratic Man: Emile.” Daedalus 107, no. 3 (1978): 135 53. www.jstor.org/stable/20024568. Burgelin, P. La philosophie de l’existence de J.-J. Rousseau [J.-J. Rousseau’s philosophy of existence]. Paris, Slatkine, 1973. Cantor, Paul A. Creature and Creator: Myth-making and English Romanticism. Great Britain: Cambridge University Press, 1984. Cooper, Laurence D. “Between Eros and Will to Power: Rousseau and “The Desire to Extend Our Being”.” The American Political Science Review 98, no. 1 (2004): 105-19. www.jstor.org/stable/4145300. Davis, Michael. The Autobiography of Philosophy: Rousseau’s the Reveries of the Solitary Walker. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 1999. Emerson, Ralph Waldo. The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, edited by Brooks Atkinson. New York: Random House, Inc., 2000. Gillespie, Michael Allen. The Theological Origins of Modernity. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2008. Heidegger, Martin, 1889-1976. Basic Writings from Being and Time (1927) to The Task of Thinking (1964), edited by David F. Krell. New York: Harper & Row, 1976. ——. Being and Time. Translated by John Macquarrie and Edward Robinson. New York: Harper & Row, 1962. ——. Elucidations of Hölderlin’s Poetry. Translated by Keith Hoeller. New York: Humanity Books, 2000. ——. Heidegger, Martin. Poetry, Language, Thought. Translated by Albert Hofstader. New York: HarperCollins, 1971. Hobbes, Thomas and E. M. Curley. Leviathan: with selected variants from the Latin edition of 1668. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub. Co., 1994. Grace, Eve. “The restless of “being:” Rousseau’s protean sentiment of existence.” History of European Ideas, no 27 (2001) 133-151. Accessed March 30, 2020. ——. The Rousseauian Mind. London: Routledge, 2019. Leonard, Miriam. Derrida and Antiquity. Oxford and New York: Oxford Scholarship Online, 2010. Melzer, Arthur M. The Natural Goodness of Man: On the System of Rousseau’s Thought. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1990. ——.”Rousseau and the Problem of Bourgeois Society.” The American Political Science Review 74, no. 4 (1980): 1018-033. doi:10.2307/1954321. Mitchell, Andrew J. The Fourfold: Reading the Late Heidegger. Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press, 2015. Neidleman, Jason (2013). “The Sublime Science of Simple Souls: Rousseau’s Philosophy of Truth.” History of European Ideas, 39:6, 815-834, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01 916599.2013.809008. Accessed April 18, 2020.s Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Emile or On Education. Translated by Allan Bloom. New York: Basic Books, 1979. ——. Essay on the Origin of Languages. Edited by John T. Scott. Hanover: University Press of New England, 1998.


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——. The First and Second Discourses. Edited by Roger D. Masters. Translated by Roger D. Masters and Judith R. Masters. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1964. ——. The Reveries of the Solitary Walker. Translated by Charles E. Butterworth. Indianapolis/ Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company, 1992. Schaeffer, Denise. “The Utility of Ink: Rousseau and Robinson Crusoe.” The Review of Politics 64, no. 1 (2002): 121-48. Accessed April 12, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/1408696. Smith, John E. “Rousseau, Romanticism and the Philosophy of Existence.” Yale French Studies, no. 13 (1954): 52-61. Accessed February 25, 2020. doi:10.2307/2929180. Velkey, Richard. Being After Rousseau: Philosophy and Culture in Question. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2002.

About the Author Moriah Poliakoff is a graduating senior this year whose academic interests lie largely in the history of philosophy and political thought. In particular, her research as of late has centered around the thematic notion of authenticity past and present. She is an American Studies major and Philosophy minor. She also a member of the Honors Program, a Junior Fellow at the Center for American Studies, and has presented research at several political science conferences. She will be attending Boston College in the fall to pursue an MA in Political Theory.


“Influence of the Music of the Spheres Throughout the Renaissance Era” Dylan Pruitt Faculty Sponsor: Dr. David Salomon, Honors Program

Abstract The ancient idea of the music of the spheres has been written about for centuries, with musica universalis first appearing in writing in 4th century B.C. Since its inception, it was influential in the development of music theory and astronomy, as well as literature and poetry, until the end of the Renaissance era. During the classical and medieval eras, people attempted to perfect systems of harmony; it was commonly believed that an understanding of harmony would enable people to better understand the order of the universe, or the universal harmony. This search for order also extended to astronomy - Copernicus and Kepler were both motivated to research astronomy because they wanted to find the secret to universal order. The influence of the music of the spheres was also felt on the literature of the time period, with many poets and writers – most famously Shakespeare – referencing the music of the spheres in their works. Although the influence of the music of the spheres declined after the Renaissance era, it is responsible for significant development in Western culture and technology, and even today scholars continue to write on the topic.


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The notion of musica universalis, or the music of the spheres, has been around for over two thousand years. Although no writings of Pythagoras have been found, the idea is usually first attributed to him. The first appearance of the idea in writing was in the 4th century B.C., when Plato used the theory to explain his cosmology in the Timaeus. Despite the idea preceding the Renaissance era by several centuries, the music of the spheres remained influential throughout the timeframe - perhaps even more so during the Renaissance than when it was conceived. The music of the spheres had a significant impact during the Renaissance era not only on literature and the arts, but also the development of astronomy. According to the Timaeus, the planets were created with a numerical plan involving the numbers 1, 2, 3, and their squares and cubes. The relations of these numbers are the same as musical intervals in the Pythagorean system. Plato also mentions harmony in the Timaeus; the idea of a universal harmony existing, not unlike musical harmony and relations, captivated intellectuals, and was one of the main reasons why the idea was so appealing to study. As Otto Kinkeldey writes in his article “Music of the Spheres”, published in the Bulletin of the American Musicological Society, this led to a new interest in studying musical harmony - “an understanding of musical harmony will make universal harmony intelligible” (30). Plato never created a specific musical application of the system he had proposed. However, even in the classical era, the music of the spheres influenced scientific development - Pythagoras’ ideas about universal harmony led him to discover how mathematical ratios and harmonic intervals were related. Much of the foundation of music theory has been derived from the scales and harmonic intervals Pythagoras discovered. In addition, many of Plato’s successors attempted to expand on Pythagoras’s ideas, in an attempt to create a solid musical foundation. Many classical thinkers reasoned that if they could understand harmony in music, it would be possible to transform the inaudible harmony of the spheres into music of the spheres. Even during the Middle Ages, the music of the spheres remained a topic of interest. Margaret Mendenhall writes that “during the period from AD 1000 to 1500 there were roughly 150 different treatises written on the subject.” This led to more interest in canonics - the theories of canonics being the study of pitches and intervals. The study of musical harmony during this time was also a significant part of mathematics and astronomy. In Dante’s Paradiso, celestial harmony is a major theme throughout the poem. During the Renaissance era, the music of the spheres led to scientific breakthroughs in the field of astronomy. Johannes Kepler, an astronomer famous for his laws of planetary motion, gave what is probably the most thorough attempt at a harmonic theory in his Harmonices Mundi, published in 1619. While researching harmony, Kepler discovered that the distances between planets did not reveal any satisfactory harmonies that would relate to the music of the spheres. In his article The Music of the Spheres, Andrew Brown explains that it was this frustration that caused Kepler to search for world harmony, where he discovered his third law of planetary motion. This law compares the orbital period and radius of one planet to another, not unlike musical intervals comparing two pitches to each other. However, the influence of the music of the spheres would not just be limited to astronomy during this timeframe. After the Renaissance era, the music of the spheres gradually became more obscure. While it never had the impact that it commanded during the Renaissance era again, it has remained a topic of interest and scholars continue to research the origins and history of it today. The Renaissance era ushered in a period of secularization, and as the influence of the Church began to decline, the effects and reach of cosmology and the music of the spheres began to decline with it. Carla Zecher wrote that the sixteenth century “was the last moment in central currents of European culture when the term music could allude to a form of universal knowledge” (298). Although the music of the spheres is not nearly as important to current society, or even music in general, as it was centuries ago, it was responsible for encouraging innovation and discovery that led to breakthroughs and change well beyond the Renaissance era.


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The music of the spheres was prevalent throughout literature during the Renaissance era. Around the 1550s, a number of French cosmological poems were published that attempted to find a model for poetic creation, using the music of the spheres. Carla Zecher writes that the poems “illustrate the progression by which French Renaissance poets came to baptize the ancient Muse of astronomy” (297). This can be seen through how the poets influenced each other in succession; the works of Pierre de Ronsard and Jacques Peletier du Mans inspired the works of Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas. In turn, Du Bartas was a significant influence on Jean de La Ceppède’s devotional poetry. These poems all concerned a subject attempting to reach Parnassus - where some Greek traditions claimed the Muses lived - except for one instance where the subject attempted to travel to Calvary instead. In the subject’s journey, their quest ultimately leads them from worldly concerns to a vision of a new poetic ideal. These poems joined the ideas of the destiny of French poetry, and the music of the spheres. Poets used musical imagery to help them describe a metapoetic journey through cosmology because musicality, at the time, was still considered to belong to both poetry and the universe. Although the idea of the music of the spheres was ancient in origin, after being elaborated by fifteenth-century Italian theorists, it came to represent an aesthetic ideal in the sixteenth century. Due to this development, cosmological poetry was renowned because the search for the harmonia mundi in the texts was thought to lead to the creation of harmonious poems. Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas, one of the French cosmological poets, explained that because the planets’ movement is uniform, but they move independently of each other, the planets cause interference to each other. However, in a sense this interference is described as the planets “keeping each other on track”. In addition, because the motion of the planets is orderly, the music of the spheres is described as harmonious, as opposed to discordant and dissonant. Music of human creation, he explained, was a natural offspring of the music of the spheres, because ratios could be applied to musical intervals in the same manner that they were applied to different planets. The music of the spheres also had a significant influence on William Shakespeare; appearing in most of his plays, it is used to express characterization, the plot, and aspects of the supernatural. Shakespeare frequently wrote poems to echo themes throughout his plays, a choice greatly influenced by the music of the spheres. Although this also functions as a literary device, the echoing of themes is similar in concept to musical themes, where composers repeat and develop musical motifs throughout songs and pieces. Emily Sulka argues that Shakespeare took time to write complex callbacks and motifs into the play because he wanted to reflect the common belief that the entire cosmos was in order. Language and music were considered to be different dialects of one language Shakespeare frequently used language to convey musical beliefs in order to emphasize this viewpoint. This is reflected most notably in The Merchant of Venice; Sulka writes that Shakespeare intentionally framed the play so that “the audience can see echoes of the same motif throughout the play” (4). For instance, Gratiano says that if someone buys something with care, they will lose it. Later in the play, when Portia vows to love Bassanio, readers will remember Gratiano’s warning. These intricate motifs were woven into the play in order to reflect the common belief in universal order. However, the music of the spheres’ influence on Shakespeare was not only limited to The Merchant of Venice. For example, in Pericles, he writes that the world is peaceful when it is “in tune”, but in chaos when it is “out of tune”. In Pericles, madness is depicted as a state of being out of tune; Shakespeare primarily references musica humana - the subjective music of the soul - in the play, this serves two general purposes. He uses the music of the spheres to portray characterization as the “tuning of bodily elements and humours”, and also describes the ability of music to cure physical and mental ailments. In the climax of Pericles, Pericles is insane and “out of tune”, so Marina sings for him, which cures him of his madness, because


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Marina is perfectly in tune with the spheres. John Milton, most famous for his epic poem Paradise Lost, also frequently referenced the music of the spheres. Musicality in general is present throughout his poem, and the music of the spheres is also mentioned in three poems Milton wrote at Horton: Arcades, Comus, and Lycidas. The idea of a hierarchy in planets mirrored a medieval idea that there was a hierarchy of angels. Angels populated each sphere from the innermost sphere and the one farthest removed from the heavens, Earth, all the way to the “prime mobile” (“Music of Spheres In Milton Explained”). Another interpretation of the music of the spheres from Milton’s time was that the angels, which represented platonic intelligence, each sang one note. The rotation of the spheres would then blend the angels’ voices together, creating a harmony. Milton wrote that ordinary people could not hear the angels singing because they had been tainted after the Fall. However, because people could ostensibly hear the music of the spheres prior to Adam and Eve’s temptation, he believed that the music of the spheres could be heard again through “the education and moral perfection of man” (“Music of Spheres In Milton Explained”). Milton claimed that virtue was even greater than the highest sphere, and that only through virtue humans could once again hear the music of the spheres - which Milton describes as “heavenly concord” in Paradise Lost. In Paradise Lost, the music of the spheres is interpreted as the singing of angels; Adam is able to listen to the music of the spheres before the Fall, and until the Fall occurs in the poem there are numerous musical references. In Book II, Milton also depicts the singing of the fallen angels, who have not completely lost their musical ability. He writes that the fallen angels “Retreated in a silent valley, sing / With notes Angelical to many a Harp / Thir own Heroic deeds and hapless fall” (2.547-549). However, Milton describes their singing as “partial” – a distortion of the jubilant chorus of the angels. This reflects the broken nature of the fallen angels, and to a lesser extent, mankind after the Fall. This example with the angels singing represents the idea that evil is a lack of good – the fallen angels lack the perfect harmony that they had before rebelling against God. In the second of seven orations that he delivered as a student at Cambridge, known as his Prolusions, Milton talked about the concept of the music of the spheres. Milton explained the ideas of Pythagoras and Plato by claiming that the spheres were bound by a universal affection, which in turn created a pleasant harmony. However, he elaborated further on this point, to say that Pythagoras implied love when he talked about the harmony of the spheres. In his oration he defended the idea of the music of the spheres from the rebuttal of Aristotle, who he describes as the “the envious and perpetual calumniator of Pythagoras and Plato” (Mander 64). His interest in the subject would only continue to manifest itself in his later works, and it is clear that the music of the spheres was an influence on Milton’s writings. Simon Jackson writes that the music of the spheres may have had such a profound impact on Milton due to his upbringing and his blindness. Milton’s father was a chorister at Christ Church Cathedral, and although his father was not a professional musician, he performed and wrote music throughout his life. This reputedly was influential on the young Milton - he was said to have musical talent, and was an accomplished organist. As Milton grew older, his eyesight gradually worsened, until he became completely blind. However, he was still able to understand and listen to music, which is another plausible reason for his inspiration from music. The idea of divine harmony was incredibly captivating to scholars in the Middle Ages; Alessandro Vettori writes that music, or harmony, was one of the main subjects of the medieval quadrivium. Students would advance through geometry, arithmetic, and astronomy, until finally reaching “the most celestial and cosmic of all sciences (harmony), a true match for divine perfection” (Vettori 60). Martianus Capella’s harmony is much more expansive and encompassing than what is today known as harmony - his harmony dealt with the movement of the entire universe and every relation between planets and stars. The melodic study of music was only a small portion of the harmonic curriculum during this timeframe.


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It was believed that harmony distinguished creation from its beginning and characterized Paradise before the Fall. Medieval writers, interestingly, wrote that the music of the spheres was inaudible to people because they were involved in worldly pursuits. By contrast, they claimed that an attentive listener of “godly matters” could hear the music of the spheres. Harmony, at this time, was focused on the space of music. Although music and harmony were the same discipline during this timeframe, they were both part of a surprisingly complex structure relating to music and cosmic order. Franciscan poems wrote cosmological poems about the music of the spheres in the thirteenth century and the Middle Ages, and the music of the spheres continued to fascinate poets for centuries onward. Music, as a medieval discipline, consisted of several branches, and was extraordinarily complex compared to the field of music today. The study of melodies and musical instruments, including voice, is what comprises most of the current music education system. However, this was only one branch of the discipline. Musica, as it was called, also included theoretical and philosophical branches relating to cosmic harmony and spiritual appeasement. Vettori explains that in the timeframe, music signified an order that could be reached through theological speculation. The term also referred to the interactions between the divine and nature and humans. The importance of music in the Middle Ages is reflected in its inclusion in the medieval curriculum; even during the Renaissance era, the fascination that scholars had with music as it related to order and universal harmony contributed to the view of music as a subject important to higher education. As technology made it easier to spread ideas and society began to change major musical developments occurred during the Renaissance era. During the early Renaissance era, composers mostly produced polyphonic masses and motets written in Latin for the Church to use. Rebecca Arkenberg writes that the expansion of the music field from technology and secularization during the Renaissance helped encourage musical development, leading to new musical genres, instruments, and compositional styles. A relevant development in the compositional scene of music was composers’ continued experimentation with polyphony and counterpoint, which is the musical art of composing for several simultaneous voices at once. The idea behind counterpoint is that these separate melodies join together to create a unique harmony. As scholars continued to search for the order behind the music of the spheres, composers also sought to increase the complexity of their harmonies. Humanists in the 1500s also studied Greek treatises on music, which discussed the relationship between music and poetry. During the medieval and Renaissance eras, one result of the search for order and divine harmony in the universe was the great chain of being. The Great Chain of Being was a strict hierarchy of all life in the universe, with anything outside of the chain falling into chaos. The astronomical diagrams and drawings of the time also seem to reflect the idea of a hierarchy of sorts. Arthur Lovejoy writes in his book The Great Chain of Being: The Study of the History of an Idea that the original geocentric view of the universe was a hierarchy not unlike the great chain of being. The Great Chain of Being is an idea usually attributed first to Aristotle, who called it the scala naturae. Originally, it represented everything from humans to plants to lifeless minerals, as a hierarchy of existence. Humans were originally at the top of the hierarchy, but this was later expanded to include saints, angels, and deities on the chain of being; humans were subsequently moved to the middle of the chain. As the idea evolved, it gradually shifted from being a spectrum or hierarchy of existence to one of morality. According to an article by Mark Brandt and Christine Reyna, the bottom half of the chain became populated with increasingly evil demons, culminating with Satan himself at the bottom of the chain (428). The Great Chain of Being is also central to the plot of Milton’s Paradise Lost. Adam and Eve are forbidden from eating fruit from the Tree of Knowledge; however, Satan tempts


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Adam and Eve to eat the fruit because he convinces them that there is little harm in doing so. After tempting Eve by whispering in his ear while she sleeps, he later possesses a serpent to talk to Eve. The serpent convinces Eve that by eating the fruit, he has moved up on the chain of being – being a serpent, he was previously unable to talk, but he claims that eating the fruit has allowed him to break the rigid hierarchy of the Great Chain of Being. Eve then reasons that if the serpent is able to move up the hierarchy, and it is only a beast, Adam and Eve can ascend to a godlike status by eating the fruit. Some scholars and writers have argued that mankind placed the Earth at the center of the universe in order to make mankind seem more important, so that the entire universe could revolve around mankind. However, the medieval reasoning for this is the opposite - Earth is the farthest removed in the geocentric model from the heavens, or the Empyrean, as Lovejoy describes it. Lovejoy even goes on to say that inside the center of the Earth lies Hell, which is as far away from the light of heaven as it can possibly be. The geocentric model thus served more as a reminder of man’s insignificance to the grand cosmic scheme than another way to dignify humanity. This hierarchy can even be found in Copernicus’s models of the universe. Planets revolve around the sun in a perfect circular motion, resembling a hierarchy not unlike the Great Chain of Being. Kepler viewed the sun as the most sensible known body in the universe that could represent a deity, writing that the sun was the analogue for God the Father, and the sphere of fixed stars provides the counterpart of the Son. He assigns the space between the planets to the Holy Ghost. His support for the heliocentric theory helped to establish the credibility of Copernicus’s theory, when at the time even Brahe refused to believe it. Contrary to what most people think, although the findings of Copernicus and Kepler disproved the medieval worldview, neither was trying to go against religion or the Church. Both astronomers originally sought out a higher order to the planets, inspired by the music of the spheres. Tycho Brahe also dabbled with alchemy, which also had connections to the music of the spheres. The contributions of these astronomers helped spark innovation and ingenuity in the Renaissance era as astrologists began to innovate and discover about the cosmos. A misconception that many people have about Copernicus is that he argued that the sun was at the center of the universe, against everyone else. However, his model was in actuality more similar to that of his contemporaries, depicting the planets traveling in a perfect circular motion. In addition, scholars before Copernicus had also argued that the sun was at the center of the universe. The Pythagoreans, whose leader Pythagoras is also credited with the idea of the music of the spheres, wrote that the sun was the “central fire” of the universe, and in the 5th century Martianus Capella argued that Mercury and Venus orbited the sun, which orbited around the Earth. While Copernicus was not the first to argue this idea, he was responsible for bringing it into the mainstream. Copernicus waited years to publish his ideas because he knew that his findings would be controversial. Because of this, his book De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) used an extensive amount of mathematical proofs and astronomical tables to support his argument for the heliocentric system. His main motivation for researching the heliocentric system was that he was searching for a higher order. After Copernicus published his findings in 1543, it sparked a revolution in the field of astronomy and laid the foundation for new innovations. The article “Whose Revolution? Copernicus, Brahe & Kepler” says that although Copernicus was partially motivated to research astronomy because of the music of the spheres, its influence was most significant on Johannes Kepler, a famous Renaissance astronomer. Both Kepler’s first major work, Mysterium Cosmographicum (The Cosmographic Mystery), published in 1596, and Harmonice Mundi (Harmonies of the World), published in 1619, are about the geometry and order of the cosmos. According to Kepler, the motions of the heavens created


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harmonies – a notion that would likely be interpreted as superstition today. Kepler’s combined interest in geometry, alchemy, and the music of the spheres led him to pursue astronomy. In 1609 Kepler published the Astronomie Nova, which detailed extensive research on Mars. Using Brahe’s data, Kepler proved that the orbit of Mars could be described as an ellipse, instead of a perfect circle, which was an incorrect model. His quest for order ultimately led him to persist in researching the orbit patterns of Mars, and his findings revolutionized astronomy. In the Astronomie Nova Kepler also wrote about the possibility of a force of attraction holding together the solar system, a precursor to the later discovery of gravity. Kepler’s captivation with the music of the spheres also led him to discover his laws of planetary motion, which he is most famous for. Galileo was also interested in finding a link between his astronomical work and his research into music. Galileo’s father, Vicenzo Galilei, was a well-respected Florentine composer at the time, whose works would later inspire composers such as Vivaldi and Frescobaldi. Galileo was aided in his research by Gioseffo Zarlino, a musical theorist and composer, who had also been a mentor to his father. In Zarlino’s Institutioni Harmoniche, which was published in 1558, he discussed the dogma of the music of the spheres. Dominique Proust writes that Galileo, drawing on experience with his father, eventually realized that the length of an organ determined the pitch of its sound (363). In his Dialogue concernant deux nouvelles sciences, completed in 1636, Galileo wrote about the discovery of the link between musical intervals and the number of vibrations of an instrument per second. Although the notion of the music of the spheres originated many centuries ago, it continued to wield an extraordinary influence until after the Renaissance era ended. It was prevalent throughout literature and poetry during the Renaissance, and was an inspiration for composers to experiment with increasingly complex harmonies. The search for order in the universe through the music of the spheres ultimately led to the serious study of harmonics and music theory, as musicians sought to comprehend the elusive universal harmony. Surprisingly, the music of the spheres was also a significant motivation for important scientific figures in the Renaissance era, including Galileo and Kepler - Kepler discovered his laws of planetary motion while searching for the secret to universal order and harmony. Even though the music of the spheres became less eminent in the centuries after the Renaissance, it has remained a frequently researched and discussed topic, and rightly so. The magnitude of how influential the music of the spheres have influenced our development, technologically and culturally, is astounding and interesting to research. The innovation and discovery brought on and inspired by the music of the spheres laid the foundation for fields such as astronomy and music theory, and because of its widespread reach throughout different fields during the Renaissance era in particular, it was not only influential to the development of Western culture, it was significantly so.


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Works Cited Arkenberg, Rebecca. “Music in the Renaissance.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Oct. 2002, www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/renm/hd_renm.htm. Brandt, Mark J., and Christine Reyna. “The Chain of Being: A Hierarchy of Morality.” Perspectives on Psychological Science, vol. 6, no. 5, 2011, pp. 428–446. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/ stable/41613515. Accessed 16 Apr. 2020. Brown, Andrew. “The Music of the Spheres.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 5 Nov. 2009, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/andrewbrown/2009/nov/05/astronomy copernicus-Kepler-religion. Jackson, Simon. “Milton and Music.” Milton and Music, Christ’s College at Cambridge University, darknessvisible.christs.cam.ac.uk/music.html. Kinkeldey, Otto. “The Music of the Spheres.” Bulletin of the American Musicological Society, no. 11/12/13, 1948, pp. 30–32. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/829272. Accessed 26 Feb. 2020. Lovejoy, Arthur. “The Chain of Being and Some Internal Conflicts in Medieval Thought.” The Great Chain of Being: A Study of the History of an Idea, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts; London, England, 1964, pp. 67–98. JSTOR, www.jstor. org/stable/j.ctvjsf71g.6. Accessed 14 Apr. 2020. Mander, M. N. K. “Milton and the Music of the Spheres.” Milton Quarterly, vol. 24, no. 2, 1990, pp. 63–71. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/24464372. Accessed 16 Apr. 2020. Mendenhall, Margaret. “‘The Music of the Spheres’: Musical Theory and Alchemical Image.” “The Music of the Spheres”: Musical Theory and Alchemical Image, 8 Apr. 2020, www.pacifica.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/mendenhall.pdf. Milton, John. “Paradise Lost Book II.” Paradise Lost: Book 2, www.dartmouth.edu/~milton/ reading_room/pl/book_2/text.shtml. “Music of Spheres In Milton Explained.” Vassar Chronicle Newspaper Archives, https:// newspaperarchives.vassar.edu/?a=d&d=vcchro19560421-01.2.4. Proust, Dominique. “The Harmony of the Spheres from Pythagoras to Voyager.” The Role of Astronomy in Society and Culture, Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, IAU Symposium, vol. 260, 2009, pp. 358–367., http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu// full/2011IAUS..260..358P/0000358.000.html. Sulka, Emily. “Shakespeare’s Philosophy of Music.” Shakespeare’s Philosophy of Music, 8 Apr. 2017, digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1021&context=music_ and_worship_student_presentations. Vettori, Alessandro. “Harmony of the Cosmos.” Poets of Divine Love: The Rhetoric of Franciscan Spiritual Poetry, Fordham University Press, New York, 2004, pp. 59–78. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt13wzvg1.8. Accessed 16 Apr. 2020. “Whose Revolution? Copernicus, Brahe & Kepler.” The Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/ collections/finding-our-place-in-the-cosmos-with-carl-sagan/articles-and-essays/ modeling-the-cosmos/whose-revolution-copernicus-brahe-and-kepler. Zecher, Carla. “Pagan Spirituality and Christian Passion: The Music of the Spheres in Sixteenth-Century French Cosmological Poetry.” French Forum, vol. 18, no. 3, 1993, pp. 297–317. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40551722. Accessed 26 Feb. 2020.


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About the Author Dylan Pruitt is a member of Christopher Newport University’s class of 2023. He intends to major in computer science, and is also a member of both the President’s Leadership Program and the Honors Program. Although he plans to major in computer science, his interest in learning outside of the sciences and background as a composer led him to research the music of the spheres for Dr. Salomon’s Honors course, “Heaven and Hell”. In his free time, Dylan enjoys composing, hiking, and working on the Noland Trail as a volunteer.


“An Analysis of Decarbonization Efforts in Iceland and Finland” Hunter Smith Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Andrew Kirkpatrick, Department of Political Sciences

Abstract Energy decarbonization has become one of the most pressing political issues of the 21st century. Two of the countries considered to be the most successful at implementing decarbonization plans are Iceland and Finland. These countries pose an interesting point of comparison given their many similarities. Sections II and III discuss structural and compositional aspects of each country, including such things as governmental structure and various statistics. Sections IV and V address decarbonization efforts in each country while Section VI considers these efforts while also considering any structural or compositional differences. Ultimately, this analysis concludes that Iceland has implemented more effective decarbonization efforts than Finland. Additionally, the analysis finds more variation in decarbonization efforts than one might expect. This variation has a significant effect on what policies are implemented and the overall structure of the country’s decarbonization plan. Despite being the weaker country in terms of decarbonization, Finland exhibits significant potential to increase the effectiveness of its own efforts.


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I. Introduction Decarbonization efforts are one of the most pressing policy issues at play in the current political climate. With the Paris Climate Accords approaching its first reporting deadline, significant analysis of decarbonization efforts is being undertaken to assess the effectiveness of various countries’ strategies. Particular attention is being paid to Europe, especially the Nordic states, due to its reputation as a champion for environmental causes including decarbonization. Therefore, this paper will focus on decarbonization efforts in two Nordic states, Iceland and Finland, in order to provide an analysis of the overall effectiveness of decarbonization efforts in two countries known to be environmentally conscious. These two countries pose an interesting point of comparison. Both countries are Nordic states, and both countries have ties to the EU. Finland is a full member of the EU while Iceland is a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which has connections with the EU through the European Economic Area (European Free Trade Association, n.d.). Furthermore, both countries consistently rank highly in the Environmental Performance Index (EPI). In 2018, Finland received a score of 78.64 and Iceland scored 78.57, ranking 10th and 11th, respectively (Wendling, Emerson, Esty, Levy, de Sherbinin, et al., 2018). However, there are several differences that distinguish these countries from one another in terms of energy decarbonization solutions, which will be discussed at length individually in Sections IV and V and comparatively in Section VI. The methodology employed will first account for structural and compositional differences between the two countries. This will be accomplished through discussions of political systems, GDP and other economic measures, and energy & energy statistics. Then, energy decarbonization efforts will be examined for each country individually. Finally, the efforts of the two countries will be compared with each other in light of their particular political, economic, and environmental backgrounds. II. Background – Iceland Iceland operates under a unitary parliamentary republican political system. This means that there are no subnational political bodies, only the central government. Furthermore, the parliament, or Althingi, is elected using a proportional representation system, and the prime minister is selected from the party with a plurality in the Althingi. Conversely, the president acts as the head of state and is elected by direct popular vote. The current president, Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson, is an independent and has served since 2016. The current prime minister is Katrín Jakobsdóttir, who has served since 2017 and is a member of the Vinstrihreyfingin – grænt framboð, or the Left-Green Movement (Government of Iceland, n.d.). Iceland’s GDP totals roughly $18.18 billion using the purchasing power parity (PPP) method. While they have the 153rd-lowest GDP in the world, they improve significantly in terms of per capita GDP, which totals $52,200 and is the 25th-highest in the world. The large difference in rankings is due to Iceland’s relatively low population; the country only has 343,518 citizens. Iceland also boasts a very developed economy. The service sector accounts for 74.6 percent of GDP while industry accounts for 19.7 percent and agriculture takes up the remaining 5.8 percent. Furthermore, Iceland’s most recent Gini coefficient measurement is 27.8, indicating relatively low levels of income inequality among its citizens. As stated above, Iceland is ranked 11th in the world for the EPI, indicating a strong commitment to combatting environmental issues in general (Wendling et al., 2018). This can be verified by examining the country’s electricity production. The country has a total installed electricity generating capacity of 2.772 million kilowatts (kW), ranking 100th in the world. This speaks to the efficiency of its electricity production considering the country’s relatively small population. Most of the country’s electricity production comes from hydroelectric sources, accounting for 71 percent of all electricity production. Other renewable sources account for


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25 percent, fossil fuels make up 4 percent, and the country derives none of its electricity from nuclear sources. Despite the country’s commitment to renewable energy, it still produces 3.228 million megatons (Mt) of carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption annually—about 9.4 Mt per person per year (Central Intelligence Agency, 2019). III. Background – Finland Similarly to Iceland, the Finnish government is a parliamentary republic. However, there are some key distinctions between the two countries. First, Finland is not a unitary state, meaning that subnational political bodies are utilized. This is likely due to the fact that Finland is larger than Iceland in terms of both land area and population. Second, while Finland also has both a president and a prime minister, the Finnish president has far more power than the Icelandic president. Some of these powers include handling foreign policy and national security issues, commanding the military, and having veto power over legislation. Like the president of Iceland, the Finnish president is elected through direct popular election. The parliament operates largely in a similar manner to that of Iceland and is also elected by a proportional representation system. However, the Finnish electoral system uses an open-list proportional representation system and has mandatory preferential voting. This not only creates a multiparty political system (which aligns with Duverger’s Law) but also creates intraparty competition, providing a unique characteristic to Finnish elections (von Schoultz, 2018). The current president is Sauli Niinistö, who has held the office since 2012 and is an independent. The current prime minister is Antti Rinne, a member of the Social Democratic Party who has been in office since June 2019 (ThisIsFinland, 2015; Central Intelligence Agency, 2019). Finland also has a strong economy, with its GDP totaling roughly $244.9 billion. This makes its economy the 62nd-largest in the world. Like Iceland, it also improves when considering its per capita GDP of $44,500, the 38th-highest value in the world. Finland’s population totals 5,537,364 people, which puts both Iceland and Finland relatively close in terms of per capita GDP. The countries share another similarity in that the service sector accounts for a majority share of the Finnish economy at 69.1 percent. The industrial sector makes up 28.2 percent of the economy and agriculture comprises 2.7 percent. Overall, the Finnish economy is slightly more industrial than the Icelandic economy, with the difference accounted for by smaller shares of the agricultural and service sectors. Finland’s Gini coefficient value, 27.1, is also very close to Iceland’s value with a difference of only 0.7 points (Central Intelligence Agency, 2019). While also receiving a high EPI ranking (higher than Iceland, in fact), Finland’s electricity production does not show the same commitment to renewable sources as does Iceland’s. A majority of the country’s electricity is sourced from fossil fuels (41 percent), while nuclear, hydroelectric, and other renewables all have similar shares of the remaining production (17, 20, 23 percent, respectively). Overall, Finland has a total installed electricity generating capacity of 46.01 million kW. Despite using more fossil fuels for electricity production, Finland’s population has less per capita burden of carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption. The country as a whole produces 46.01 million Mt annually, which amounts to roughly 8.31 Mt per person per year (Central Intelligence Agency, 2019). Therefore, the average Finn will produce about 1.09 Mt less of carbon dioxide emissions each year than the average Icelander while simultaneously deriving more of their energy from fossil fuels than the Icelander. IV. Decarbonization Efforts – Iceland Despite achieving so much in terms of energy decarbonization, Iceland has relatively few policies that address this specifically (Barido, Avila, & Kammen, 2020). As stated in Section II, Iceland receives nearly all of its electricity production from renewable sources, particularly hydroelectric. Another major source of renewable energy for the country is geothermal energy, a source somewhat unique to it due to the island’s volcanic nature. Furthermore, as a member


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of the EFTA and EEA, Iceland is integrated into the single market established under the EU governing documents without agreeing to other stipulations regarding political and economic integration (Johannesson, 2013). As a result, Iceland has become exposed to EU environmental policy and is involved with the EU emissions trading system, or EU ETS (O’Neill, 2017). Each of these solutions will be examined in turn. Iceland has not always been an economic and environmental success story like it is today. Before development of the hydroelectric industry occurred, the economy was largely agrarian and Iceland was one of the poorer countries in Europe (Bertelsen & Hansen, 2015). Even once the country decided to pursue developing hydroelectric power, it was initially unsure how to accomplish this since its agrarian society lacked the knowledge and funding for such projects (Bertelsen & Hansen, 2015). Because of this, the country needed to attract investment from other states and private investment companies. This led to the development of the “waterfall investment companies” which came to control major rivers and waterfalls in the country (Bertelsen & Hansen, 2015, p. 116). Furthermore, the country sought out architects and engineers from other countries, particularly Norway, to assist in the creation of these facilities (Armannsson, 2005, as cited in Bertelsen & Hansen, 2015). Naturally, external investment brings up the political issue of resource ownership. If the investment companies owned the rights to these waterways, there was no guarantee that Iceland would be able to benefit from the facilities. Therefore, the Althingi produced legislation requiring that any investment companies be based within Iceland (Bertelsen & Hansen, 2015). This also caused issues considering that much of the capital being invested in these projects was coming from other countries. Consequently, the government took little action and had to buy back water rights from these foreign investment companies once the projects were completed (Bertelsen & Hansen, 2015). External investment did not cease once the government has reobtained water rights. Iceland received some loans related to the Marshall Plan after World War II, which helped fund the completion of the Sogsvirkjun hydroelectric power plant complex (Bertelsen & Hansen, 2015). While these loans only increased foreign investment at first, they helped Iceland develop in terms of economic growth and bureaucratic professionalism in areas regarding the energy sector. As a result, the country has since developed increased capacities in terms of funding, knowledge, and implementation (Bertelsen & Hansen, 2015). In fact, Iceland has been effective enough in developing a knowledge-based hydroelectric sector that they are now exporting highskill jobs in the sector to other countries, solidifying their position as a global leader in terms of hydroelectric energy production (Bertelsen & Hansen, 2015). Iceland is not only a leader in hydroelectric energy production but also in geothermal energy production. This is due to the country’s unique geography. The island was formed by volcanic activity tens of thousands of years ago. This results in magma being far closer to the Earth’s crust than it would be in most other countries. This allows Iceland to take advantage of geothermal production, perhaps the least accessible of the renewable energy sources simply due to the geographic prerequisites. Iceland was one of the first countries to begin efforts around harnessing the potential of geothermal energy (Barido, Avila, & Kammen, 2020). However, this energy is not easily accessible. The creation of a geothermal subsector within the energy production sector has similar requirements to the implementation of hydroelectric facilities— namely funding and human capital. Therefore, as Iceland’s hydroelectric sector developed and flourished, it became more equipped to develop a geothermal sector as well. However, despite the apparent championing of green energy sources, a large proportion of geothermal energy production supports the country’s aluminum smelting industry, which has obvious negative consequences in terms of environmental harm (Tiovanen et al., 2017). One of the main problems with geothermal energy is that current technological limitations do not allow for a “full scale switch” to purely geothermal energy production


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(Heesterman, 2017). Despite this, in an advanced economy such as Iceland, there is potential for the domestic sector to still be widely successful. Indeed, this is what has occurred in Iceland. The country is said to have “significant amounts of installed geothermal capacity” which addresses many political problems in addition to decarbonization, such as energy security and energy independence (Heesterman, 2017, p. 302). In fact, the Icelandic geothermal sector has been so successful that there is potential to export some of the energy derived from geothermal facilities. The country has been considering exporting the surplus to Europe by utilizing an undersea HVDC, or high-voltage direct current, link (Landsvirkjun, 2016, as cited in Heesterman, 2017). This would be an easy political decision for Iceland since it is an EEA member, allowing access to the EU’s internal market. While hydroelectric and geothermal efforts undertaken by Iceland certainly help it achieve low carbon dioxide emissions, they were not originally designed with emissions reductions in mind. Perhaps the most effective mitigation effort undertaken by Iceland is its involvement in the EU’s emissions trading system (ETS). Despite not being a fully integrated member of the EU, Iceland was able to join in the EU ETS due to its membership in the EFTA and, therefore, the EEA. The EU ETS was the first transboundary emissions trading plan ever established and remains the largest of its type until today (O’Neill, 2017). It has been largely successful, now covering a total of 12,000+ installations and roughly 40 percent of all GHG emissions in the EU (O’Neill, 2017). However, Iceland’s involvement deserves to be critically examined. As a nation which receives 96 percent of its energy production from renewable sources, why would Iceland be concerned about joining such an agreement? As stated above, an average Icelander’s share of total carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption is over 9 Mt annually. Obviously, there is still work that can be done in Iceland to reduce overall carbon dioxide emissions, and GHG emissions overall. Furthermore, some scholars argue that it makes sense that Iceland would join this agreement without taking an active leadership role. One analytical framework classified Iceland as a “follower” country, meaning that as a non-EU member state, they simply follow EU energy decarbonization policies rather than attempting to influence them in some way or ignoring them altogether (Hofmann, Jevnaker, & Thaler, 2019, as cited in Szulecki & Claes, 2019). This could potentially suggest relative indifference to decarbonization efforts on the part of Iceland’s government, calling into question their reputation as a pro-environment and pro-clean energy state. V. Decarbonization Efforts – Finland While similar to Iceland in many respects, Finland faces different problems concerning energy decarbonization. Additionally, the analysis for Finland will be inherently different because it is an EU member-state; therefore, most of the nation’s environmental and energy policies are established and governed by the European Commission. First and foremost, the country receives just under half of its energy production from fossil fuels (Central Intelligence Agency, 2019). This obviously creates several problems in terms of decarbonization efforts, as well as potential setbacks in meeting its emissions reduction goals for the Paris Accords. According to a report published by the group Climate Analytics (authored by Rocha et al.), to meet the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement, Finland will need to reduce emissions 60 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and 130 percent below 1990 levels by 2050 (2016). This prediction utilized least-cost energy-economic modeling. When adopting an equity approach, which is not accounted for under the least-cost energy-economic model, the estimates remain the same for reductions by 2030 but increase to 150 percent reductions by 2050 (Rocha et al., 2016). The primary policy option for emissions reductions in Finland is the EU ETS, which covers about 50 percent of all GHG emissions in the country (Ministry of Economic Affairs and


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Employment of Finland, n.d.). It appears that the EU ETS has been successful in reducing the use of carbon fuels in Finland, as results from one study show that fossil fuel use has decreased while the use of biomass and wood/wood wastes has remained relatively stable (Kautto, Arasto, Sijm, & Peck, 2012). Of course, it is important to note that emissions reduction efforts have been successful not solely due to the EU ETS, but a combination of the EU ETS and national support mechanisms (Kautto, Arasto, Sijm, & Peck, 2012). Some of these efforts include diversifying energy production (currently Finland is dependent on fossil fuel imports), reducing energy demand, and attempting to take an active role in strengthening the Nordic market for electricity (Brodin & Hanberg, 2017). Another significant problem facing Finland is fossil fuel consumption through transportation use. There is a particular mindset within Finland of a shared “need for spaciousness” which results in relatively sparse population dispersion (Haarmann, 2016, p. 90; Tiovanan, 2017). This sentiment is echoed in a study by Sovacool et al. (2018) wherein Finns were interviewed regarding their most important energy concerns. Finland, along with Norway, was the country that had the most interviewees cite this issue as very important. Four separate responses (R133, R144, R124, and R119) are given in the article to demonstrate the importance of this issue to the Finnish populace (Sovacool et al., 2018). This is exacerbated by the fact that public transport systems in Finland often do not run into more rural areas, making it necessary for individuals in these areas to commute into cities for work and recreation (Sovacool et al., 2018). Let’s reconsider the importance of living space to the Finnish. If more Finns moved to urban areas, personal cars would not be necessary, and the use of public transport (and potentially methods of transportation which don’t require fuel, such as biking) would increase. However, without knowing that they won’t be crowded into a tiny apartment if they move to an urban area, Finns will have no incentive to leave their more spacious homes in rural areas. Therefore, without intervention by the government to expand the public transportation infrastructure, this problem will most likely go unresolved. While the use of non-fossil fuel vehicles has been increasing in recent years due to increased efficiency/reliability and decreasing cost, it will be many years before such practices begin to combat the effects of fossil fuel use. Speaking about the energy sector broadly, as an EU member-state, Finland must develop national strategies to achieve the EU’s energy goals. The current goals include a 27 percent increase in energy efficiency, a 27 percent share of production for renewable energy sources, and a 40 percent reduction in GHG emissions (Toivanen et al., 2017). The Finnish government’s strategic plan for 2030 addresses these issues as well as some of the issues previously discussed, namely transportation, through discussions of partial solutions and flexibility. In terms of specific strategies and policies, the Finnish government plans to increase the share of renewables to more than 50 percent, a 30 percent share of biofuels in road transport, and generally reducing the energy intensity of the overall economy through increased energy efficiency (Tiovanen et al., 2017). Energy intensiveness of the Finnish economy needs to be a major focus of decarbonization efforts. The energy intensiveness derives from Finland’s manufacturing sector, mainly because of the forestry, metal, machinery, and shipbuilding industries which are often export-oriented (Tiovanen et al., 2017). Further contributing to this is the sparse population density and long commutes—these two issues must be considered and addressed jointly. However, there is significant variation in the views held by stakeholders regarding the proper solutions to achieving a decarbonized energy system. These three views will each be outlined and discussed in turn. The first view, supported by half of the respondents in the study, posits that international markets and competition should determine which energy sources are developed and which are phased out. Furthermore, this view assigns importance to improving energy efficiency through grid development. This effectively produces support for the development of smart grids, an inherently more sustainable and efficient grid system. In terms of policy solutions and government action,


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this view does not emphasize significant management from the state. Rather, it promotes the use of market solutions and incentives in encouraging energy decarbonization. One potential policy solution that fits within this view is a power-based tariff structure, which would increase energy efficiency within the system (Tiovanen et al., 2017). The second view recognizes the importance of consumer-side solutions in terms of encouraging energy decarbonization. This view opts for encouraging prudent consumption among consumers. This practice underlines the principle of decentralization present within this view. Because of the desire for decentralization, this view does not have any specific policy solutions because efforts are being placed on consumer behavior rather than systemic change (Tiovanen et al., 2017). The third view aims to maximize the use of local energy sources in energy production. Due to the geographic characteristics of Finland, this often translates to increasing the use of biomass primarily through wood and wood-waste. This view serves as a combination of the government intervention from view I and the consumer emphasis of view II. This view emphasizes uplifting the power of Finnish consumers (increasing purchasing power and national competitiveness) and utilizing state intervention to promote self-sufficiency in electricity production. Policy solutions supported by this view will vary depending on current economic conditions, as any preferred policy will take into account national competitiveness. For the current economic conditions, solutions that support wind power or phase out nuclear power will not be supported under view III (Tiovanen et al., 2017). Overall, the variance in policy views across various Finnish stakeholders demonstrates the difficulty in achieving the far-reaching decarbonization goals of the EU under the Paris Climate Accords. Perhaps the only area in which all stakeholders would agree is that new fossil fuel efforts should not be recipients of government support because these fuels are not predicted to remain competitive and are generally less efficient than alternative energy options. However, it will likely be difficult for these stakeholders to find common ground in terms of which policies to utilize in the country’s strategic plan for accomplishing the EU’s decarbonization goals. VI. Comparison of Decarbonization Efforts & Implications There are several differences in decarbonization efforts between Iceland and Finland. First, energy production from different sectors varies greatly among the two countries. Iceland derives almost all of its energy from renewable sources, namely hydro and geothermal, whereas a plurality of Finland’s energy is still derived from fossil fuels while drawing the remainder from nuclear, hydro, and other renewables in more-or-less equal quantities. Furthermore, Iceland is relatively energy independent while Finland still imports a large percentage of its electricity, especially in terms of fossil fuel imports (Tiovanen et al., 2017). In terms of continued decarbonization efforts, Finland will obviously need to pursue more aggressive policies. Optimal renewable options worth pursuing for Finland will likely include nuclear (based on the expectation that competitiveness in the nuclear industry will increase as fossil fuels are phased out) and biomass, especially wood-derived biomass (due to the country’s landscape). Iceland will likely not need to pursue extensive decarbonization efforts but may consider the potential of exporting excess energy from geothermal production to counties like Finland who will need to continue to cut carbon emissions. However, it is possible that Finland may not be amenable to this as its policies could emphasize becoming less dependent on energy imports. Second, the level of agreement among the populace in terms of policy solutions differs between the countries. In Iceland, there is greater homogeneity in terms of the preferred policy direction. This could be due to two factors. First, the logic of collective action suggests that Iceland’s smaller population makes it easier to achieve a homogenous decision in terms of policy direction. Second, because Iceland has fewer decarbonization policies than other countries, there is less of a chance for disagreement and fragmentation among the populace in terms of support


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for different policy options. Finland, on the other hand, has three distinct views on the proper methods for encouraging decarbonization efforts. Each of these demonstrates variance in terms of the emphasis of state intervention and consumer efforts. This represents relative heterogeneity within the country regarding preferred policy directions, which makes garnering widespread support for any particular policy far more difficult than in Iceland. This may explain why Finland still has a relatively high dependency on fossil fuel use, despite evidence that reduction efforts have been effective. There are other potential factors affecting the level of homogeneity in agreement on policy directions in each country. First, the population in Iceland is more centralized and tends to be predominantly urban. Because there is a greater proportion of the population experiencing the same problems, it makes sense that there is more homogeneity among the population. Conversely, the Finnish population is more dispersed and rural due to their preference for abundant living space. This means that groups of people will experience the effects of decarbonization in varying degrees, resulting in more variation in terms of which policy solutions they are willing to support. The typical urban-rural divide will likely be present in Finland while its influence will be greatly diminished in Iceland. Lastly, the two countries are likely to experience different effects from their participation in the EU ETS. Since Iceland is only associated with the EU ETS through its involvement in the EEA, it is not subject to the EU’s decarbonization goals. Therefore, it has greater autonomy in terms of developing decarbonization policy, especially in terms of developing a strategy for carbon emissions reduction. Furthermore, because it has a low baseline reliance on fossil fuels, the effects of the EU ETS on reducing emissions may be less than expected. Finland, on the other hand, is bound to the EU’s decarbonization goals and must develop its decarbonization strategy according to these goals. The reduction in autonomy may not only affect the feasibility of particular solutions, but also the number of viable solutions. That being said, Finland will also likely benefit more from participation in the EU ETS since it needs to reduce its carbon usage by a greater amount than Iceland. Of course, the effects are entirely contingent on whether the incentives for Finland favor emissions reductions through decarbonization or procuring more pollution permits from countries like Iceland which have less use for them. VII. Conclusion Ultimately, despite sharing Nordic heritage and connections with the EU in some capacity, there is more variation in decarbonization efforts between Iceland and Finland than one may initially suspect. The effects of these variations have a significant influence on policy solutions undertaken by each country, as well as defining their strategies for achieving decarbonization. Additionally, these factors have an influence on the effectiveness of decarbonization efforts in each country overall. Based on the analysis provided above, Iceland demonstrates a more effective decarbonization plan than does Finland based on its initial lack of fossil fuel dependency, homogeneity among policy solutions undertaken, and having a smaller but more effective decarbonization policy repertoire. Despite this conclusion, Finland has the potential to increase the effectiveness of its decarbonization efforts provided it can find an effective and feasible compromise between the varying views on policy solutions present within the country.


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References Barido, D. P. d. L., Avila, N., & Kammen, D. M. (2020). [Available online 9 November 2019]. Exploring the enabling environments, inherent characteristics and intrinsic motivations fostering global electricity decarbonization. Energy Research & Social Science, 61(1), pp. 1-15. Bertelsen, R. G., & Hansen, K. G. (2015). From energy to knowledge? Building domestic knowledge-based sectors around hydro energy in Iceland and Greenland. In R. Pincus & S. H. Ali, Diplomacy on ice: Energy and the environment in the Arctic and Antarctic, pp. 113-127. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Brodin, N. P., & Hanberg, J. (2017). Efficient power: A discourse analysis of energy efficiency policies from Finland and Sweden. Central Intelligence Agency. (2019). Finland. In The world factbook. Retrieved 4 December 2019 from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/fi.html. Central Intelligence Agency. (2019). Iceland. In The world factbook. Retrieved 4 December 2019 from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ic.html. European Free Trade Association. (n.d.). European Economic Area (EEA) / Relations with the EU. Retrieved 4 December 2019 from https://www.efta.int/eea. Government of Iceland. (n.d.). How is Iceland governed? Retrieved 4 December 2019 from https://www.government.is/topics/governance-and-national-symbols/how-is-icelandgoverned/. Haarmann, H. (2016). Modern Finland. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Heesterman, A. (2017). The pace and practicality of decarbonization. Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy, 19(2), pp. 195-310. Johannesson, G. T. (2013). European Iceland: Integration, excess, and collapse (1994-2012). In The history of Iceland, pp. 135-148. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood. Kautto, N., Arasto, A., Sijm, J., & Peck, P. (2012). Interaction of the EU ETS and national climate policy instruments – impact on biomass use. Biomass and Bioenergy 38(1), pp. 117-127. Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland. (n.d.). Emissions trading. Retrieved 4 December 2019 from https://tem.fi/en/emissions-trading. O’Neill, K. (2017). The global politics of market mechanisms. In The environment and international relations (2nd ed.), pp. 201-231. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Rocha, M., Sferra, F., Schaeffer, M., Roming, N., Ancygier, A., Parra, P., Cantzler, J., Coimbra, A., & Hare, B. (2016). What does the Paris Climate Agreement mean for Finland and the European Union? [Technical report, no number]. Retrieved 4 December 2019 from https://climateanalytics.org/projects/finland-and-the-paris-agreement/. Sovacool, B. K., Noel, L., Kester, J., & de Rubens, G. Z. (2018). Reviewing Nordic transport challenges and climate policy priorities: Expert perceptions of decarbonisation in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden. Energy, 165(1), pp. 532-542. Szulecki, K., & Claes, D. H. (2019). Towards decarbonization: Understanding EU energy governance. Politics and Governance, 7(1), pp. 1-5. ThisIsFinland. (2015). Parliamentarism in Finland. Retrieved 4 December 2019 from https:// finland.fi/life-society/parliamentarism-in-finland/. Toivanen, P., Lehtonen, P., Aalto, P., Björkqvist, T., Järventaustra, P., Kilpeläinen, S., Kojo, M., & Mylläri, F. (2017). Finland’s energy system for 2030 as envisaged by expert stakeholders. Energy Strategy Reviews, 18(1), pp. 150-156. von Schoultz, A. (2018). Electoral systems in context: Finland. In E. S. Herron, R. J. Pekkanen, & M. S. Shugart, The Oxford handbook of electoral systems (601-626). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.


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Wendling, Z. A., Emerson, J. W., Esty, D. C., Levy, M. A., de Sherbinin, A., et al. (2018). 2018 Environmental Performance Index. New Haven, CT: Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy. Retrieved 4 December 2019 from https://epi.yale.edu/.

About the Author Hunter Smith is a senior at Christopher Newport University. He is double majoring in political science and economics and double minoring in environmental studies and history. He is a member of three academic honor societies as well as Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternity. Hunter’s work has been published on the website for the Wason Center for Public Policy and The Daily Press. His main research area of interest is decarbonization policy in developing countries. In the fall, he will be attending the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance at the University of Washington to earn his Master of Public Administration with a concentration in environmental policy & management. After this, he plans to earn his PhD and pursue a career in academia.


“In Teachers We Trust: A Machine Learning Analysis of NYC Schools� Caitlyn Snead and Dawson Brown Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Linda Waldron, Department of Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology

Abstract Trust is vital to educational success within academic environments; however, conventional models of trust in schools differ greatly from current models of trust produced by economists. Economic models of trust tend to focus on factors like income, education, marginalized communities, and traumatic experiences. More conventional, social models of trust focus on organizational factors, like availability, support, and collaborative efforts. Considering the incredible importance of trust in academic environments and the existing gap between economic & educational models of trust, this paper seeks to further evaluate the social and economic determinants of trust in schools. With data from over four hundred high schools in New York City, we use ordinary least squares, random forest, and artificial neural net machine learning models to delineate which factors are most important for trust in the context of schools. We find that measures of teacher and administrative engagement - rigorous instruction, school-community ties, effective school leadership - are significantly correlated with trust in schools, while more structural measures - racial composition, economic need, language barriers - are not correlated with trust in the models produced. While not wholly discounting the significance of structural forces, these results underscore the tremendous value of administrative and teacher engagement to overcome those existing structural challenges and foster trust in schools.


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Introduction Trust is a crucial component to organizational, relational, and educational success within academic environments (Tschannen-Moran, 2020). The academic environment is dictated by the various roles that individuals hold within the setting, creating a power dynamic that cannot be avoiding and inevitably impacts the prevalence of trust (Diefenbach & Sillince, 2011). This variety of organizational and relational trust creates challenges when addressing reform. For example, schools looking to implement curricular changes experience less resistance to change when levels of trust are high between principals, teachers, parents, and students (Harris, Caldwell, & Longmuir, 2013). As a result of the multiple stakeholders involved, continued maintenance of trust enacting practices is necessary to ensure the continued academic achievement within schools. The specific means of establishing trust have been ill-defined in the past, as models contradict one another in the analysis of factors that impact trust. More specifically, models of trust produced by economists significantly differ from conventional models of trust in schools. The economic models of trust focus on societally relevant factors of trust such as income, education, marginalized communities, and traumatic experiences. The social models of trust focus on organizational factors, such as availability, support, and collaborative efforts. By determining which model is most effective within the context of schools, resources can be allocated more effectively in building and maintaining trust. Considering the incredible importance of trust in academic environments and the existing gap between economic & educational models of trust, this paper seeks to further evaluate the social and economic determinants of trust in schools. With data from over four hundred high schools in New York City, we use ordinary least squares, random forest, and artificial neural net machine learning models to delineate which factors are most important for ever important trust in the context of schools. Literature Review Trust is notoriously hard to define, due to its interwoven and inseparable nature from other similar constructs, such as expectancy, confidence, and vulnerability. Ascribing a single definition does not fully encapsulate the meaning and or significance of trust in most cases (Mayer, Davis, & Shoorman, 1995). Trust is contextual. How individuals view and define trust can vary greatly between different settings. For example, in the context of organizations, trust is more based on mutual cooperation and objective goals, while in a relational setting, trust is more based on mutual affection and belief. Additionally, trust can be interpreted differently between cultures (Shockley-Zalabak, Morreale, & Hackman, 2010). Behaviors and actions taken to establish trust within one culture could warrant a different outcome in a tangential culture, failing to facilitate the establishment of trust. While a single definition has not been agreed upon, there are common characteristics between cultures and disciplines that provide a universal foundational understanding of trust. First, trust is commonly regarded as being associated with optimistic expectancy (Hosmer, 1995). Individuals practicing trust enter situations of uncertainty and feel confident in their ability to predict the outcome, whether the outcome be positive or negative. Along with optimistic expectancy is the consistent prevalence of morality associated with trust, or the positive connotation of trust in interactions with others. Second, trust must organically develop within an organizational or relational dynamic. Just as trust cannot be forced, it can be easily lost, particularly within hierarchical organizations. Leaders perceived to be incompetent or dishonest quickly lose the trust of thier subordinates, and struggle to reclaim their position as a respected authoritative figure (Harris, Caldwell, & Longmuir, 2013). Lastly, trust is reciprocal and requires the effort of each party in looking out for the wellbeing of one another (Kramer & Cook, 2004). The reciprocity of trust requires vulnerability, which is consistently seen throughout various definitions of trust. The possibility of rejection from failed reciprocity leads individuals to feel they are at risk for emotional harm and choosing to


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continue to trust despite the possibility of harm requires immense courage. The universality and context-specific nature of trust is readily apparent in organizational settings. The social model of trust tailored to organizational contexts developed by Zak (2018) utilizes neuroscience to determine the strongest oxytocin releasing behaviors that support the development of trust. Zak (2018) identified eight factors that support the development of trust, including (1) recognizing high performing employees and students, (2) cooperation as a group to solve problems, (3) autonomy in deciding task responsibilities, (4) autonomy in deciding how tasks get accomplished, (5) honest and frequent communication, (6) building relationships by showing care and support, (7) investing in personal and professional growth, and (8) leadership authenticity. In educational institutions specifically, academic achievement, collaboration, innovation and learning are dependent on the prevalence of trust. In the last decade, teachers, parents, and government officials have established a platform for education reform that challenges the status quo of autonomy and demands more accountability. The message most often communicated surrounding individual scholarly achievement highlights the influence of social determinants, such surrounding community, parental support, and resource availability. Recently, the narrative has changed to emphasize the importance of organizational commitment to educational success and individual skills and lessons amongst teachers. The implementation of No Child Left Behind in 2001 catalyzed this shift in perspective (Brill, 2018). By enacting this piece of legislation, standardized testing became more widespread, providing data about the status of education within the United States. As data has become more readily available to track educational achievement, similar efforts have begun to differentiate schools that are successful from schools that are falling behind. Similarly, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015 followed in the footsteps of No Child Left Behind, increasing the importance of accountability in U.S. public schools. This push for accountability includes not only academic achievement, but other important variables in the equation - like trust. While accountability is certainly warranted in schools settings, accountability without trust can create pressure and anxiety in schools (Tschannen-Moran & Gareis, 2015). In that sense, the continued importance of accountability reaffirms the prioritization of trust in many school contexts. Adding to the challenge, relational trust within the context of schools assumes the responsibility of organizational improvement that involves hard decisions. School systems that lack the faculty support when implementing beneficial reforms are failing to acknowledge the moral component of trust that emphasizes optimistic expectancy (Bryk & Schenider, 2003). In contrast to the organizational and social models of trust cited above, traditional economic models of trust place emphasis on structural forces that are widely applicable to larger groups of individuals. The logic of this paradigm exists when assessing trust in the context of all individuals within a society. Considering the fact that public education engages similar communities of diversity, there should be a reasonable overlap between the economic model of trust and correlates of trust in schools. The factors that economics models address are negatively biased and concern the characteristics and events that could lead to a decline in trust. The specific factor include, (1) history of traumatic experiences, (2) identifying with a group that has faced historical or present discrimination, (3) having less education or belonging to a lower income bracket, (4) living in a community with a large income disparity, and (5) living in a racially mixed community (Alesina & Ferrara, 2000). While each of the aforementioned factors can decrease an individual’s willingness to trust, Alesina and Ferrara (2000) also highlight the reality that time can and does remedy the impacts of these experiences and characteristics. When combined with communities of expectancy and cooperation, the negative impact of the aforementioned experiences can begin to diminish.


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Data, Context, and Analysis To evaluate the significance of several variables related to trust in schools, we aggregated and evaluated data from the annual New York City Public Schools Quality Review survey (New York City Public Schools, 2020). This data set reports structural forces within each public school in New York City - including factors like racial composition, economic need, etc. - as well as social and relational forces within schools, like trust, rigorous instruction, effective school leadership, and strong school-community ties. For these more relational metrics, New York City Public Schools compiled survey responses into respective metric scores, which are then reported by school. These scores, pertaining to trust, community-school ties, school leadership, rigorous instruction, were then used in the analysis below (details regarding how NYC compiled and created these metrics can be found at www.schools.nyc.gov). In this case, trust is operationalized via a score based on several different survey questions asked of students, parents, and teachers. These responses are compiled into a single trust metric for each school, which we used as the dependent variable in our analysis. In terms of independent variables, we evaluated total school enrollment (Enrollment), a rigorous instruction metric (Rigor), an effective school leadership metric (Leadership), a strong school-community ties metric (Community), percent of students that are English learners (EL), an economic need metric (ENI), percent of students that are white (White), percent of teachers with three or more years of experience (Teach), and teacher attendance rate (TA). Both existing economic and social-based models of trust would consider these variables quite important, hence they were included in the data analysis below. For the sake of this analysis, we evaluated data from 421 public high schools in New York City. Using R data analysis software, we leveraged machine learning algorithms to delineate which variables were most significant to trust in the high schools evaluated. We divided the sample of 421 high schools into a train set (210 observations) and a test set (211) observations. Then we used the train set to make overall predictions using three different methodologies: a simple ordinary least squares (OLS) regression model, a random forest decision model, and an artificial neural network model. While certainly different approaches, each one of these methodologies allowed us to better understand the forces contributing to trust in the sample. The results from the OLS regression (Figure 1), the random forest decision model (Figures 2-5), and the artificial neural net model (Figures 3-5) are reported below. OLS Model As expressed in Figure 1, the results from the OLS regression model suggest that rigorous instruction, effective school leadership, and strong school-community ties are positively correlated with trust within the school, whereas more structural factors - like economic need, percent white, percent English learners, and total enrollment are not. The rigorous instruction, effective school leadership, and strong school-community ties variables were each statistically significant in the OLS model at or below the .05 p-value threshold. The multiple R-squared value of .8716 suggests that a substantial amount of variation in the dependent variable (trust) was accounted for by the model. To further confirm the predictive accuracy of the OLS model, we performed mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) calculations on both the training and test data set. For both the training set and the test set, the calculated MAPE was below 10% (2.1% and 2.2% respectively), suggesting that the OLS model had strong predictive validity.


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Figure 1: OLS Regression Output

Random Forest/Artificial Neural Net Model By in large, the results of the random forest and artificial neural net analysis substantiate the results from the OLS model suggesting that rigorous instruction, effective school leadership, and strong school-community ties are the most significant variables regarding trust within NYC high schools. Figure 2 shows a variable importance plot produced via random forest analysis. At the top of the variable importance plot lie the effective school leadership, rigorous instruction, and community ties variables, suggesting that they are the most relevant in the random forest model. A calculated training set MAPE value of 1.13% and test set MAPE value of 2.5% supported the predictive validity of the random forest model used. Figure 2: Relative Variable Significance in Random Forest Model


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To further test the correlation between trust and each of the independent variables being tested, partial dependence plots were generated via both the random forest and artificial neural net models. These partial dependence plots show the marginal effect that each isolated independent variable has on the dependent variable, in this case trust. In each PDP, the trust metric is on the y axis, with the independent variable evaluated on the x-axis. Figures 3 and 4 show pure, mostly linear correlations between school-community ties and effective school leadership and trust in both the random forest and artificial neural net generated partial dependence plots. Interestingly, the partial dependence plot generated for the rigorous instruction variable does not show a pure linear correlation. Instead, the ANN generated PDP shows a u-shaped pattern, suggesting that trust initially falls as rigorous instruction increases, but eventually rises as rigorous instruction increases. Figure 3: School-Community Ties Variable (Partial Dependence Plots - RF & ANN) ANN RF

Figure 4: Effective School Leadership Variable (Partial Dependence Plots - RF & ANN) ANN RF


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Figure 5: Rigor Variable (Partial Dependence Plots - RF & ANN)

ANN RF

Conclusions and Limitations Ultimately, each of the data analysis methods used – OLS, random forest, and ANN suggest that social and interpersonal factors in school are relatively more important than structural forces in regard to interpersonal trust. At first glance, this suggests that existing economic models of trust, especially in the context of schools, may need some reworking. Whereas economic models of trust would underscore the importance of economic inequality, race, and trauma on trust or a lack thereof, this analysis shows that those models are somewhat limited in terms of schools. The data presented also suggests that the effort and effectiveness of teachers and administrators is at the heart of trust in schools. Teacher experience and teacher attendance rate were not significantly correlated to trust, while effective leadership and academic rigor were. Put together, these results support the notion that administrative efficacy and effort is at the heart of student-parent-teacher trust, not just teacher experience and consistency. Lastly, the data presented points to the importance of school-community ties in fostering trust. Administrators and teachers that are more willing to extend their effort beyond the walls of the school, may be able to reap the academic benefits within their own classrooms. The data presented in this paper shows that those bridges can be built, and the benefits conferred even in the face of economic need, large school sizes, and language barriers. While this data tells us the importance of leadership, community engagement, and effective administration in schools, it does not necessarily give us a road map for how to best enact what is needed. It may be easy to say that the solution to failing trust in schools is more effort and engagement from teachers and administrators, but that would be a narrow-minded view of all the different challenges that school systems, administrators, and teachers face. Much more research is needed to determine how school systems can foster passion and engagement from their administrators and teachers going forward. It is also important to not downplay the impact that socioeconomic status can have on student achievement. Undoubtedly, socioeconomic status and educational achievement are interwoven as to create a trap for many young students, struggling with both basic necessities and fulfilling the obligations of an education. If anything, this paper acknowledges that struggle and adds a challenge to administrators and school systems: if trust in schools is more about administrator and teacher engagement than the student population’s economic status, trust should be an attainable goal, regardless of the socioeconomic conditions that a student population may face.


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References Alesina, A., & Ferrara, E. L. (2000). The determinants of trust (No. w7621). National Bureau of Economic Research. Brill, S. (2012). Class warfare: Inside the fight to fix America’s schools. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks. Bryk, A. S., & Schneider, B. (2003). Trust in schools: A core resource for school reform. Educational Leadership, 60(6), 40-45. Diefenbach, T., & Sillince, J. A. (2011). Formal and informal hierarchy in different types of organization. Organization Studies, 32(11), 1515-1537. Harris, J., Caldwell, B., & Longmuir, F. (2013). Literature review: A culture of trust enhances performance. Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. Unpublished manuscript. Hosmer, L. T. (1995). Trust: The connecting link between organizational theory and philosophical ethics. Academy of Management Review, 20(2), 379-403. Kramer, R. M., & Cook, K. S. (Eds.). (2004). Trust and distrust in organizations: Dilemmas and Approaches. Russell Sage Foundation. Mayer, R. C., Davis, J. H., & Schoorman, F. D. (1995). An integrative model of organizational trust. Academy of Management Review, 20(3), 709-734. New York City Public Schools. (2020). School Quality Reports and Resources – High Schools Retrieved from https://infohub.nyced.org/reports/school-quality/school-qualityreports-and-resources Shockley-Zalabak, P. S., Morreale, S., & Hackman, M. (2010). Building the high-trust organization: Strategies for supporting five key dimensions of trust (Vol. 7). John Wiley & Sons. Tschannen-Moran, M. (2020). Organizational Trust in Schools. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education. Tschannen-Moran, M., & Gareis, C. R. (2015). Principals, trust, and cultivating vibrant schools. Societies, 5(2), 256-276 Zak, P. J. (2018). The neuroscience of high-trust organizations. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 70(1), 45.

About the Authors Caitlyn Snead is a pre-med student pursuing a B.S. in Biology along with minors in Leadership Studies and Communication Studies. She plans to attend medical school at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine upon graduation. On campus she is involved in the Presidential Leadership Program, Honors Program, Bonner Service Scholars, and Greek Life. Off-campus she volunteers at Riverside Regional Medical Center and works at Hampton Roads ENT as a scribe and medical assistant. The last two years she has won awards through the fraternal community for her community service and initiatives directed at raising awareness about community challenges specific to Newport News, such as geographical limitations for cohesiveness, urban segregation, and the role of Christopher Newport University students to engage with residential members. Dawson Brown is a senior at Christopher Newport University studying economics and cellular biology. On campus, Dawson is involved in the Honors Program, Presidential Leadership Program, Biotechnology and Management Program, and the Bonner Scholar Program. At CNU, Dawson has engaged in research in many different fields, ranging from ethology to economics. In particular, Dawson is passionate about using decision-science and behavioral economics to promote public health and advance public policy. Next fall, Dawson plans to attend the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville, Virginia.


“The Exploration of Resiliency, Emotional Regulation, and the Passage of Time as Potential Mediating Factors on the Impact of Latent Exposure to Adverse Childhood Experiences and Anxiety and Depression Symptoms in Early Adulthood” Kelly Timlen Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Michelle Lange, Department of Psychology

Abstract Anxiety and depression symptoms in young adults were examined in relation to the exposure of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) with resiliency and emotional regulation as potential mediators between the two variables. An exploratory question regarding the relationship passage of time may have on ACE exposure and anxiety and depression symptoms was examined as well as if it played a mediational role within those two variables. A google form survey was conducted with a sample of 231 participants with no set demographics. The survey consisted of self-report measures for passage of time (participants’ age), anxiety and depression symptoms, resiliency, difficulties with emotional regulation, and the ACE questionnaire. The results portrayed main effect associations between all variables: ACE exposure, anxiety and depression symptoms, resiliency, and difficulties with emotional regulation. An interaction effect was found between these variables when participants who reported no ACE exposure was excluded from the data, where resiliency and difficulties with emotional regulation showed to be stronger predictors of anxiety and depression symptoms than participants’ ACE score. However, when all participants were included in the multiple regression, there was no interaction effect between the variables. A main effect was also shown between passage of time and anxiety and depression symptoms. There was no relationship between ACE exposure and the passage of time as well as no interaction effect between the three variables. These findings suggest that additional research should focus on how negative outcomes of ACE exposure can be combatted through help-seeking behaviors, coping strategies, and educational resources provided to community partners and caregivers on effective parenting outcomes. Keywords: adverse childhood experiences, anxiety and depression symptoms, resiliency, difficulties with emotional regulation, passage of time, young adults.


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Introduction Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are potential traumatic events that occur in childhood between infancy and 18 years of age. Such events include experiencing or witnessing violence, abuse, or neglect. Environmental factors like substance misuse, mental health problems, or familial instability, such as separation through divorce, abandonment, death, or incarceration of a parental figure, sibling, or another household member, also contribute to a child’s exposure to adversity (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). Children who experience these circumstances may have more difficulty in being a happy and accomplished student, nurturing parent, and positive citizen. Instead, they are more likely to experience negative social behaviors as well as physical and mental disorders (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). Children who have been exposed to at least one ACE are likely to have an increased risk of 80% for being exposed to more ACEs (Moore & Ramirez, 2015). Due to the high-risk of ACE accumulation during childhood and adolescence and its implications for poorer development and well-being in its victims, it has become a crucial topic. However, the presence of ACEs does not mean a child is definitively predisposed to a negative life and poor health outcomes. Protective factors can act as a buffer between the child’s adverse upbringing and the ability to adequately handle stressors that come up later in life. Moore and Ramirez (2015) took a closer look at the mediational link of many potential protective factors to see if they could relieve the burden left behind from ACE exposure. Some of the protective factors analyzed were supportive and safe neighborhoods, non-family adult support, safe school, TV and media restrictions, parent’s knowledge of friends, activity participation, and religion. Overall, the results portrayed that the number of ACEs a child is exposed to is strongly and negatively related to all the protective factors and the child’s well-being, except for two: non-family adult support and activity participation. Non-family adult support was positively related to higher ACE exposure, but also to more positive well-being, which is most likely due to the fact that teachers, coaches, and other mentors seek out children who they feel are in need of support. Activity participation also displayed a positive relationship between the two variables, emphasizing that children with more ACEs partake in activities outside of their home which increase their well-being. Even though protective factors enjoyed by children increased their well-being, the results showed that the more adversity they experienced, the less likely they were to have a positive well-being, and further showed that they had less access to these positive protective factors. Thus, although these protective factors partially mediate the negative effects of ACEs, there is still substantial negative outcomes to victims of higher ACE exposure, leaving a question of what are the protective factors for children who experience ACEs who are unable to benefit from the aforementioned positive influences? Impact of Traumatic Events Exposure to potentially traumatic events has been associated with an increased risk of psychiatric disorders including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other conduct disorders that continue into adulthood (Porche, Costello & Rosen-Reynoso, 2016). In fact, epidemiological studies suggest that 80% of U.S. adults have been exposed to at least one traumatic event during their lifetime. Overstreet, Berenz, Kendler, Dick, and Amstadter (2017) examined the prevalence and correlation of exposure to adversity and mental health outcomes of college freshmen. The results showed a history of interpersonal traumatic events, such as physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, were associated with higher levels of alcohol use, trauma related distress, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms. Taylor, Espeleta, Kraft and Grant (2019) explored college students’ cognitive risk and exposure to ACEs. Data suggested that ACE exposure created a vulnerability in college students that resulted in repetitive negative thinking, anxiety, and persistent worrying into adulthood. However, they also found


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that repetitive negative thinking had an indirect effect on ACE exposure and the frequency of uncontrollable worrying, leaving the researchers to question the contributing factors to repetitive negative thinking other than ACE exposure. Researchers advised that a follow up study could aid in the discovery of variables that may play a role in a young adults’ cognitive abilities to handle past and future difficulties, in an attempt to address the question: what makes some people capable of coping with trauma resulting in becoming a stronger individual for it, while others are stunted or irreversibly damaged by it? Resiliency The Cambridge Dictionary (2020) defines resiliency simply as the ability to be happy and successful after experiencing something difficult or bad that has happened. Children who have been subjected to the victimization of abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction are at a high risk for developing psychological and emotional difficulties that may last into adulthood (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). However, if young adults exhibit resilient functioning after their childhood adversity, they may be less at risk for developing psychopathology. Howell and Miller-Graff (2014) conducted a study examining protective factors that contributed to resilient functioning, assessing for social support (from friends rather than family), spirituality, and emotional intelligence in young adults who have been exposed or a witness to childhood violence and maltreatment. When controlling for these factors, they found that of their highly victimized population of participants (ages 18-24), higher resilience during emerging adulthood was associated with greater spirituality, emotional intelligence, and social support. The researchers further concluded from these results that the protective factors’ influence on resiliency outweighed the effects of the childhood adversity experienced and psychopathology. Yet, does resiliency come directly from the protective factors that an individual may engage with in his/her own environment? Or, can our predisposition to resiliency itself be a psychological protective factor? Poole, Dobson, and Pusch (2016) found that not all individuals who experience ACEs go on to develop depression. Their research intended to discover if resiliency or the ability to demonstrate stable functioning could further explain the different outcomes people exhibit after being exposed to ACEs, and why some people may develop depression while others may not. Results showed associations between ACEs and adulthood depression were moderated by participants’ resiliency, where the correlations between ACEs and depression were stronger when the participant exhibited lower resiliency scores compared to those who were more resilient. Emotional Regulation An important protective factor that promotes resilience is emotional intelligence (EI), also known as emotional regulation. Emotional regulation refers to the process in which people influence which emotions they experience, when they experience them, and how they are expressed (Lopez & Denny, 2019). The two kinds of emotional regulation strategies often studied are cognitive appraisals and expressive suppression. Cognitive appraisals often can be employed before an emotional response takes place by evaluating the thoughts and feelings associated with the stimulus to alter the emotional impact. Expressive suppression occurs after an emotional reaction whereby one actively inhibits an outward expression of their emotional state. Previous research shows that greater cognitive reappraisals are frequently associated with better overall health due to fewer reported anxiety and depressive symptoms, whereas expressive suppression is associated with overall poorer health because of the higher frequency in anxiety and depressive symptoms experienced. Lopez and Denny’s (2019) results supported these statements, leading them to conclude that young adults who can use positive emotional regulation strategies like cognitive appraisals are less likely to suffer from negative effects like anxiety and depressive disorders. A similar study sought to investigate emotional regulation as


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the underlying psychological process that might explain the relationship between ACEs and poor health outcomes. This study, conducted by Cloitre, Khan, Mackintosh, Garvert, Henn-Haase, Falvey, and Saito (2019), examined emotional regulation as a mediator between ACEs and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and poor physical health. The results showed that emotional regulation mediated the relationship between ACEs and all three outcomes. The researchers concluded that further studies should consider how emotional regulation skills could be improved to decrease the amount of psychological difficulties ACE victims may endure. Gaps in Previous Research While there have been a handful of studies that have explored ACE exposure in relation to mental illness, they have largely focused on college students. However, there are many circumstances in which young adults may not attend college, and those individuals may differ in meaningful ways from young adults who do attend college, including specific demographics like educational background of parents/guardians, socioeconomic class, gender, and age, which may be correlated to their ACE exposure. Furthermore, prior research has not adequately considered how ACEs and resilience factors impact young adults beyond traditional college age. Therefore, the understanding of how ACEs and possible resiliency factors may impact the broader and more representative population of young adults is unknown. This study will attempt to fill the gaps in some of these areas by gathering participants from a variety of backgrounds and ages. Given the dearth of prior research involving adults beyond traditional college age, this study will also test an exploratory question of how the passage of time may have an influence on how participants respond in reflection to their experience of ACEs in relation to anxiety and depression symptoms. For example, how do generational differences influence the reporting of such experiences? Or, how do varying amounts of time between the adverse childhood experiences and the present influence their perceptions of their well-being? Current Research Study It is important to recognize the causes of ACEs and implement strategies to help reduce the leading factors of adversity, as well as help those who are exposed recover and fulfill their potential. The timing of implementing support strategies is also important. Currently, depression affects more than 332 million people worldwide with an increase of 18.4% since 2005. About 20% of adults in the United States, which is 40 million people, have been diagnosed with at least one anxiety disorder (World Health Organization, 2017). Early adulthood is a critical period during which affective disorders first develop. Developmentally, the age of onset for anxiety disorders is on average 21.3 years of age and major depressive disorders tend to appear around 26 years of age (Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, 2018). Therefore, in understanding the impact of ACEs and the potential counterbalancing effects of resiliency factors, young adults are an important group to study given that they are the age range in which these affective disorders often arise. The purpose of this study is to explore anxiety and depressive symptoms in young adults, ages 18-26, in relation to their exposure to adverse childhood experiences. It will also explore the participants’ resiliency levels and their difficulties in emotional regulation, as potential mediators. Based on the previous literature, the researcher hypothesized: (a) young adults with higher ACE scores will show greater anxiety and depression symptom scores, (b) there will be no relationship between young adults’ ACE score and their resiliency score, (c) higher ACE scores in young adults will be associated to higher difficulties in emotional regulation scores, (d) lower resiliency scores in young adults’ will be associated more anxiety and depression symptom scores, (e) higher difficulties in emotional regulation in young adults’ will be related to more anxiety and depression symptom scores, and (f ) higher ACE scores, lower resiliency scores, and higher difficulties in emotional regulation scores will be correlated to more anxiety


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and depression symptom scores. Finally, the current study will also explore the influence that passage of time may have on the results. Methods Participants This study consisted of 231 participants. The participants consisted of a random self-selected convenience sample using three mechanisms: 1) a link to the survey was posted on the researcher’s Facebook account, 2) some of the participants came from snowball sampling, meaning participants shared the survey with individuals they felt may be interested in this study and would want to participate, and 3) the survey was also posted to a psychology research participation platform at a small southeastern university. The only requirement for participants was to be at least 18 years of age. By posting the survey on two different platforms and allowing for snowball sampling, the researcher hoped to gain a participant pool that came from a variety of ages and backgrounds. Measures Passage of Time. The researcher asked participants to self-report their age in a short-answer form (i.e., 30). Anxiety and Depression Symptoms. The researcher measured anxiety and depressive symptoms of the participants by using 26 select questions from the dysphoria, lassitude, insomnia, suicidality, appetite loss and gain, ill-temper, social anxiety, traumatic intrusions, and panic subscale items of the Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms (Watson et al., 2007). This consisted of statements describing typical depressive and anxiety symptoms that the participants would rate on a 5-point Likert Scale from one (not at all) to five (extremely) on how frequently they had these specific symptoms between the ages of 18-26. This age range is being studied because it is when young adults are most likely to experience the onset of affective disorders like anxiety and depression. Participants were asked to either reflect on the frequency they experienced these conditions if they were older than the specified age range, or how they felt currently if they fell within the given age range. The scores were then totaled for all participants, with higher scores representing increased levels of anxiety and depression symptoms. Resiliency. The researcher measured the participants’ resilience using the adaptability, optimism, self-efficacy, and social support subscale items of the 5x5 Resiliency Scale (DeSimone, Harms, Vanhove & Herian, 2017). The fifth subscale, emotional intelligence, was excluded when measuring for resilience because emotional regulation is being measured as a separate variable in this study. Participants were asked to respond to the statements using a 5-point Likert Scale to measure how resilient they were for each statement from one (very inaccurate) to five (very accurate). Again, participants were asked to either reflect when they were 18-26 or respond to their current conditions if they were between the ages of 18 and 26 when evaluating their resiliency. Negatively worded statements were reversed coded. The scores for each participant were then totaled, with higher scores indicating higher levels of resiliency. Emotional Regulation. The researcher measured the participants’ emotional regulation skills using the awareness, clarity, nonacceptance, and strategies subscale items of the Difficulties in Emotional Regulation modified short form (DERS_18), (Victor & Klonsky, 2016). Participants used a Likert Scale to measure their emotional regulation abilities for each statement from one (almost never) to five (almost always) between the ages of 18-26, either in reflection or current state. Statements that were positively worded were reverse coded. The scores for each participant’s responses were totaled, with higher scores representing individuals who experienced more difficulty in regulating their emotions. Adverse Childhood Experiences. The researcher asked a 10 item self-report measure from the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) Questionnaire from the ACE study (Felitti, Anda, Nordenberg, Williamson, Spitz, Edwards, Koss & Marks, 1998). The researcher modified


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the wording to some of the questions to be less intrusive into participants’ personal lives while maintaining the original intent of the questions. For example, the original item “did a parent or other adult in the household push, grab, slap, throw something at you, or ever hit you so hard that you had marks or were injured?” was modified to “did a parent or other adult in your household ever act in a way that made you feel afraid of being physically hurt, or physically hurt you?” Participants were prompted to answer either “Yes” or “No” if they had experienced any of the adverse conditions prior to their 18th birthday. The participants total number of “Yes” answers were totaled. A higher score meant the participant had been exposed to more ACEs. Procedures The survey was administered via Google Forms. All responses were kept anonymous. Participants who wished to receive research participation credit were asked to click a link in the debriefing section which directed them to a separate Google Form to provide their email address in order to receive the credit. Using a separate response form ensured that no participants’ surveys responses were connected to their identity. All participants were given time to fill out the survey whenever it was convenient for them over about a month-long period. After all the data had been collected, the researcher used SPSS to analyze the results. After each participants’ answers for each scale were totaled, the log of participants’ sum was taken to ensure the scale in which the results were being analyzed was proportionate to each other. Results The researcher hypothesized a young adult who had experienced more ACEs would be associated with the appearance of more anxiety and depression symptoms. A bivariant correlation test was conducted to analyze the relationship between participants’ ACE score and the frequency they exhibit anxiety and depression symptoms. The results portrayed a fair positive correlation and a significant relationship between participant’s ACE score (M = .35, SD = .30) and anxiety and depression symptom scores (M = 1.73, SD = .16) where r(231) = .37, p. = .00 shown in Figure 1. This led to the conclusion that more ACEs experienced by young adults was moderately associated with the presence of more anxiety and depression symptoms.

Figure 1. Anxiety and depression symptom scores were measured in relation to participants’ ACE score. There is fair agreement in a positive correlation that the more ACEs a participant experienced, the more anxiety and depression symptoms an individual had. The researcher also hypothesized there would be no relationship between young adults ACE exposure and their resiliency skills. A bivariant correlation test was conducted to analyze the possible association between a participant’s experience with ACEs and resiliency. The results showed a slight negative correlation between the participants’ ACE scores and


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resiliency scores (M = 1.83, SD = .08) where r(231) = -.24, p = .00 displayed in Figure 2. These results showed young adults who experienced ACEs were linked to having lower resiliency.

Figure 2. Resiliency Scores were measured in relation to participants’ ACE scores. There is slight agreement in a negative correlation that the more ACEs a participant experienced, the less resiliency skills they had. In addition, the researcher hypothesized young adults with more ACE exposure would be related to more difficulties with emotional regulation. A bivariant correlation test was conducted to explain the relationship between ACE exposure and difficulties with emotional regulation. The results exhibited a slight positive correlation and a significant relationship between the variables ACE score and difficulties with emotional regulation (M = 1.43, SD = .15) where r(231) = .28, p = .00 pictured in Figure 3. The researcher concluded young adults with more ACE exposure is correlated to experiencing more difficulties with emotional regulation.

Figure 3. Difficulties with emotional regulation scores were measured in relation to participants’ ACE scores. There was slight agreement in a positive correlation that more ACE exposure was associated with more difficulties with emotional regulation within the participants. The researcher hypothesized young adults with lower resiliency skills would be associated with more frequency of anxiety and depression symptoms. A bivariant correlation test was conducted to explore the relationship between those two variables. The results portrayed a moderate negative correlation and a significant relationship between resiliency scores and anxiety and depression symptom scores where r(231) = -.58, p = .00 shown in Figure 4. The results led


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to the conclusion that young adults with lower resiliency was correlated to the experience of more anxiety and depression symptoms.

Figure 4. Anxiety and depression symptom scores were measured in relation to participants’ resiliency scores. A moderate agreement in a negative correlation explained the association between young adults reporting lower resiliency with more anxiety and depression symptoms. The researcher also hypothesized young adults who had more difficulties with emotional regulation would be correlation to more anxiety and depression symptoms experienced. A bivariant correlation test was conducted to analyze the relationship between difficulties with emotional regulation scores and anxiety and depression symptom scores. The results displayed a moderate positive correlation with and a significant relationship between the participants’ difficulties with emotional regulation and anxiety and depression symptoms where r(231) = .57, p. = .00 portrayed in Figure 5. The results exhibited that young adults with more difficulties in emotional regulation is related to the presence of more anxiety and depression symptoms.

Figure 5. Anxiety and depression symptom scores were measured in relation to participants’ difficulties with emotional regulation scores. There was a moderate agreement in a positive correlation that the more difficulties with emotional regulation a young adult had were correlated to them experiencing more anxiety and depression symptoms. The researcher thought that resiliency and difficulties with emotional regulation would act as mediating variables to young adults ACE exposure and the frequency of anxiety and


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depression symptoms they experienced. Therefore, the researcher hypothesized that young adults who had been exposed to ACEs as well as exhibited low resiliency and more difficulties with emotional regulation would be correlated to the participant reporting more anxiety and depression symptoms. A multiple linear regression test was conducted to explore relationship between ACE scores and anxiety and depression symptom scores with resiliency scores and difficulties with emotional regulation scores as potential mediators to the previously discussed relationship. A significant regression equation was found [F (3, 230) = 60.43, p < .00 with an R squared of .44. Of the variables tested, all showed to be significant predictors of anxiety and depression symptoms in participants. There were positive correlations with slight agreement between variables of ACE Scores (Beta = .21, p. = .00) and difficulties with emotional regulation scores (Beta = .28, p = .00) and a negative correlation with fair agreement for the resiliency scores variable (Beta = -.36, p. = .00) which are displayed in Table 1. Based on these results, the researcher concluded that resiliency and difficulties with emotional regulation did not act as mediating variables to the relationship between ACE exposure and anxiety and depression symptoms, but rather all were independent predictors. Coefficientsa Unstandardized Coefficients Model 1

B (Constant) LOG_ACE LOG_RS LOG_DERS

Std. Error

2.518

.290

Standardized Coefficients Beta

t

Sig.

8.671

.000

.105

.026

.205

3.964

.000

-.673

.122

-.355

-5.522

.000

.287

.066

.284

4.378

.000

a. Dependent Variable: LOG_ADS Table 1. Anxiety and depression symptom scores were measured in relation to participants’ ACE scores, resiliency scores, and difficulties with emotional regulation scores. All variables showed to be significant predictors of participants’ frequency of anxiety and depression symptoms experienced. Upon further analysis of the data, the researcher found that the variable of ACE scores acted as a moderator to the relationships between participant’s resiliency scores, difficulties in emotional regulation scores, and anxiety and depression symptom scores. This means that when the researcher excluded participants who reported having no ACE exposure (score of 0), relevant relationships were displayed between the variables in question for those participants who reported having experienced ACEs (score of 1-10). Therefore, the researcher felt it was pertinent to report on results pertaining to the impacted relationships when the no ACE exposure subgroup was excluded from the data. The following results focused on the relationship of ACE exposure in only those participants who reported experiencing such events and their frequency of anxiety and depression symptoms while again looked to see if resiliency and difficulties with emotional regulation acted as mediating variables to the above relationship. The researcher used the same hypothesis as before regarding young adults who experienced more ACEs as well as low resiliency and more difficulties with emotional regulation would be associated with more anxiety and depression symptoms. A multiple liner regression test was conducted to examine whether resiliency scores and difficulties with emotional regulation scores acted as mediating variables to the association between participants’ ACE scores and their anxiety and depression symptom scores. A significant regression equation was found [F (3, 149) = 40.05, p. < .00] with an R squared of .45. Of the variables tested, resiliency


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and difficulties with emotional regulation were stronger significant predictors of anxiety and depression symptoms in participants while ACE exposure showed to no longer be a significant predictor of the affective symptoms. There was a negative correlation with fair agreement for the resiliency variable (Beta = .39, p. = .00) and a positive correlation with fair agreement for the difficulties with emotional regulation variable (Beta = .33, p. = .00), while the ACE score variable no longer showed a significant correlation (Beta = .12, p. = .06) which is portrayed in Table 2. This led to the conclusion when only looking at participants who reported ACE exposure, those with more ACEs as well as low resiliency and more difficulties with emotional regulation were associated with young adults experiencing more anxiety and depression symptoms. Therefore, both resiliency and difficulty with emotional regulation both mediated the relationship between ACEs and anxiety and depressive symptoms. Coefficientsa Unstandardized Coefficients Model 1

B

Std. Error

Standardized Coefficients Beta

t

Sig.

(Constant)

2.450

.332

7.384

.000

LOG_ACE

.087

.045

.120

1.938

.055

-.657

.135

-.386

-4.850

.000

.321

.079

.325

4.071

.000

LOG_RS LOG_DERS

a. Dependent Variable: LOG_ADS Table 2. Anxiety and depression symptom scores were measured in relation to participants’ who reported ACEs scores, resiliency scores, and difficulties with emotional regulation scores. Resiliency and difficulties with emotional regulation showed to be significant predictors of anxiety and depression symptoms while ACE exposure was not a significant predictor. To gain knowledge regarding the exploratory question of whether the passage of time played a role in how the participant reported their ACE exposure and their associated presence of anxiety and depression symptoms in young adults, the researcher analyzed the follow results. A bivariant correlation test was conducted to explore an association between ACE scores and the self-reported age of the participants. There was not a significant relationship between participants’ ACE score and their age (M = 25.33, SD = 12.45) where r(231) = .16, p. = .11 displayed in Figure 6. This led to the conclusion that passage of time had no correlation to how participants recorded their ACE exposure.


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Figure 6. Participants’ self-reported age were measured in relation to their ACE scores. There was no correlation found between the two variables. In continuing to explore the possible role of passage of time in this study, another bivariant correlation test was conducted to analyze the participants’ self-reported age to their anxiety and depression symptom scores. A fair negative correlation and a significant relationship was found between participants’ age and the presence of their anxiety and depression symptoms where r(231) = -.35, p. = .00 showed in Figure 7. Based on the results, the researcher concluded those participants who had not experienced the passage of time (younger participants) were associated with more anxiety and depression symptoms.

Figure 7. Anxiety and depression symptom scores were measured in relation to the participants self-reported age. There was fair agreement in a negative correlation that young adults who had not experienced the passage of time were associated with more anxiety and depression symptoms. The researcher also questioned whether the passage of time acted as a mediating variable to the relationship between ACE exposure and anxiety and depression symptoms. A linear multiple regression test was conducted to analyze whether participants’ self-reported age mediated the relationship between their ACE score and anxiety and depression symptoms scores. A significant regression equation was found [F (2, 230) = 45.27, p. < .00] with an R squared of .29. Of the variables tested, both the participants’ age and ACE scores showed to be significant predictors of their anxiety and depression symptoms. A positive correlation with


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moderate agreement was found for the ACE scores variable (Beta = .41, p. = .00) while a negative relationship with fair agreement was found for the passage of time variable (Beta = -.39, p. = .00) displayed in Table 3. These results led to the conclusion that passage of time was not a mediating variable to the relationship between young adult’s ACE exposure and their related anxiety and depression symptoms, though both were independent predictors. Coefficientsa Unstandardized Coefficients Model 1

B

Std. Error

Standardized Coefficients Beta

t

Sig.

(Constant)

1.783

.021

83.673

.000

LOG_ACE

.209

.029

.409

7.262

.000

-.005

.001

-.387

-6.874

.000

AGE

a. Dependent Variable: LOG_ADS Table 3. Anxiety and depression symptom scores were measured in relation to participants’ ACE scores and their self-reported age. All variables showed to be significant predictors of participants’ frequency of anxiety and depression symptoms experienced. The researcher also wanted to examine if excluding the no ACE exposure subgroup would produce similar results as it did with the previous relationships discussed. Therefore, another linear multiple regression test was conducted to examine whether participants’ selfreported age mediated the relationship between those who reported ACE exposure scores and their related anxiety and depression symptom scores. A significant regression equation was found [F (2, 149) = 29.30, p < .00] with an R squared of .29. Of the variables tested, both variables showed to be significant predictors of anxiety and depression symptoms. However, the passage of time variable showed to be a slightly stronger predictor through a negative correlation with moderate agreement (Beta = -.49, p. = .000) while the ACE score variable showed a positive correlation with slight agreement (Beta = .22, p. = .003), portrayed in Table 4. Overall, the passage of time variable was not strong enough of a predictor to prove itself as a mediating variable between young adults’ who reported ACE exposure and their associated anxiety and depression symptoms. Coefficientsa Unstandardized Coefficients Model 1

B

Std. Error

Standardized Coefficients Beta

t

Sig.

(Constant)

1.834

.036

51.420

.000

LOG_ACE

.155

.050

.215

3.076

.003

-.006

.001

-.489

-7.006

.000

AGE

a. Dependent Variable: LOG_ADS Table 4. Anxiety and depression symptom scores were measured in relation to participants’ ACE scores and their self-reported age. All variables showed to be significant predictors of participants’ frequency of anxiety and depression symptoms experienced.


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Discussion Analysis of Results This study was conducted in order to answer the following research questions a) is there a relationship between young adults ACE exposure and their anxiety and depression symptoms? b) does resiliency and difficulties with emotional regulation act as mediating variables to the relationship between ACE exposure and anxiety and depression symptoms? c) what role does passage of time have on how participants record their ACEs and how does this varying amount of time impact their perceptions of their anxiety and depression symptoms? This discussion will analyze the results in coordination with the researcher’s hypothesis and the significance behind these findings. The researcher ran individual correlations for the participants’ ACE exposure and its relationship to each variable of anxiety and depression symptoms, resiliency, and difficulties with emotional regulation. All these correlations showed significant relationships and portrayed main effects within the study. The hypotheses of young adults with more ACE exposure being related to more anxiety and depression symptoms and young adults with more ACE exposure being correlated to more difficulties with emotional regulation were supported, consistent with the previous literature. However, the hypothesis regarding young adults ACE exposure having no relationship with resilient function was not supported nor necessarily consistent with the previous research. The majority of literature explained how resiliency could act as a protective factor against the negative effects from ACE exposure, not that it would be associated to the participants experiencing adversity. Even though these results showed significant relationships, the correlations between the individual variables was weak. This insinuates that there are other contributing factors that could further explain the relationship between ACE exposure and these other variables. Environmental factors like socioeconomic status, educational background of parents/caregiver, gender, age, and race/ethnicity could be potential third variables influencing these relationships. The researcher also ran individual correlations between participants’ anxiety and depression symptoms and their relationship with resiliency and difficulties with emotional regulation. Again, these correlations showed significant relationships and were main effects. The hypotheses that young adults with lower resiliency scores would be related to more anxiety and depression symptoms and young adults with more difficulties with emotional regulation would also be associated to more anxiety and depression symptoms were proven and consistent with previous research. These correlations were of moderate strength which alludes to the importance of resilient functioning and emotional regulation skills to the extent of which participants exhibit anxiety and depression symptoms. This information is pertinent to the understanding that parents, teachers, counselors, and other advocates for victims need to teach coping strategies to improve young adults’ abilities with resilient functioning and how to effectively regulate their emotions. A multiple linear regression did support the hypothesis that lower resiliency and more difficulties with emotional regulation would be associated with more anxiety and depression symptoms, where resiliency and difficulties with emotional regulation were mediators to the relationship between ACE scores and anxiety and depression symptom scores, but only for participants with a history of ACEs. When considering the sample as a whole (i.e., not differentiating between participants with and without a history of ACEs), all three variables showed to be significant predictors of affective symptoms. The different relationship between these variables for those with and without a history of ACEs is noteworthy: resiliency and difficulties with emotional regulation were stronger predictors of anxiety and depression symptoms than initial ACE exposure, which demonstrates an interaction effect between all the variables. While comparing the results for all participants to only those who reported ACE exposure, it showed that those participants who were not exposed to ACEs in their childhood skewed the data for those who did. By isolating those


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participants, relevant information like the importance in building skills for resilient functioning and emotional regulation was brought to light. This relationship also explains that ACEs alone do not determine whether a young adult exhibits anxiety and depression symptoms; rather, less resilient functioning and more difficulties with emotional regulation are stronger predictors of young adults’ experiences with these symptoms. Similar to previously discussed notions, coping strategies, other forms of therapy and positive influences from the community could all be beneficial resources for the well-being of those who have been vulnerable to ACEs. Regarding the exploratory question for the role passage of time may contribute to this study, an independent correlation was conducted between the relationship of participants ACE score and their age. Although there was no relationship between these variables, this still provides pertinent information. Over time, there has been significant amount of research done on the benefits of a positive upbringing for children as well as the negative outcomes due to adversity, therefore this shift in societal norms could have created generational differences in the way people believed they were raised. Meaning, someone who is older may not believe they experienced ACEs because the societal norms during their childhoods were different than they are now therefore, they may have reported less ACE exposure than what had potentially occurred. Reversely, it is also possible that because older participants had experienced the passage of time in coordination with how society has changed, it may have granted them the time to reflect, realize, and accept that they had experienced adversity. However, because there was no relationship between ACE scores and participants’ age, it is hard to make conclusions about these allegations without further research. Another independent correlation was conducted between the relationship of participants’ age and their anxiety and depression symptoms where there was a significant relationship and main effect. This fair negative correlation explains that younger participants experience more anxiety and depression symptoms than older participants. These results are consistent with previous research stating the onset of these affective disorders occurs during early adulthood which could be why they reported having more anxiety and depression symptoms, however this does not answer the question regarding if this association exists because they experienced adversity in their childhoods or because of other factors. To further explore the above question the researcher looked at the interactions between these three variables using a multiple linear regression. Both participants’ age and their ACE scores showed to be significant predictors and main effects to anxiety and depression symptoms. When the participants who did not report ACE exposure were excluded and then retested using the same multiple regression, age showed to only be a slightly stronger predictor of anxiety and depression symptoms than ACEs; although they were both still significant predictors to the experience of symptoms. However, because it was not strong enough to prove itself as a mediator, thorough conclusions about the passage of time influencing the relationship between ACEs and anxiety and depression symptoms cannot be made without further research. These results do provide importance since there is an association between participants’ age and anxiety and depression symptoms. For example, other factors besides passage of time alone must have contributed to their affective symptoms, which are worth exploring. Limitations When conducting this study, the researcher encountered some limitations. By gathering a large N, the researcher hoped to have strong external validity and generalizable results by allowing a wide variety of participants to represent different demographics within the study. However, the mechanisms used to gather participants allowed for the overrepresentation of the age group 18-25, which made the participant pool not as generalizable as the researcher had wished to accomplish. In addition to that, since the survey was posted to a psychology research participation platform at a small southeastern university, college students were also overrepresented. Therefore, results may not be generalizable to a population of young adults


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who did not attend college. This also caused an issue to the internal validity of the study. To start, this overrepresentation of young adults and college students, primarily impacts results pertaining to the passage of time variable. Since the majority of participants fell within the age range of early adulthood, hence having a lack of time between their ACE exposure and when they took the survey and the fact that affective disorders tend to occur during this age range, it was hard to measure the influence passage of time may have had participants who exceeded early adulthood. If the ages of participants were more evenly distributed, passage of time could have been more accurately analyzed in terms of how varying amounts of time between exposure and their current age effected their recollection of experiences and perceptions of well-being. On a similar note, since majority of participates grew up in the same generation, it was hard to conclude if changes in societal norms regarding the importance of positive upbringing for children resulted in generational differences that could have impacted the way they reported ACE exposure and severity in which they experienced affective symptoms. Another limitation to the internal validity was that the variables were self-reported measures. Whenever a researcher is asking for their participants to report of their own perceptions, there will always be room for error. Since the study was researching a specific age range for young adults (18-26), any participant who was older than that had to reflect onto how they felt during that time period. Reflections can be either embellished or deflated based on the individual, which introduces issues in the reliability of the participants answers. For example, a participant might have felt that they had higher anxiety and depression symptoms when reflecting rather than how they felt during that time, and vice versa. Another problem with self-reporting measures is participants may not have answered as truthfully out of embarrassment, vulnerabilities, or because their experiences may have contradicted societal standards. In addition, if a participant was exposed to any form of ACE, they may have failed to recognize that they were exposed to adversity to begin with. The final confound to internal validity was the overall participant pool did not report being heavily exposed to ACEs. Perhaps working with an entirely victimized population would have presented more relevant conclusions for those who have experienced exposure rather than allowing for the potential skewing of data when including those participants who reported no ACE exposure. These limitations to the internal validity may have resulted in both type I and II errors, primarily because this study addressed the likelihood of a relationship being present between variables based on participants’ self-perceptions rather than being definitive. However, the low p values decreased the likelihood of this study committing a type I error. Future Research Future research should focus on how people who have been exposed to ACEs participate in help-seeking behaviors, receive, or utilize coping strategies, and how institutions can improve upon the resources they provide for their clients. In today’s society, young adults have become more open and accepting of receiving advice and guidance for their psychological issues, shown in a study done by Karatekin (2019). In this study the research showed that respondents with more ACE exposure were more likely to engage in help-seeking behaviors through both professionals and informal resources, like support groups, teachers, and friends. However, the results showed that respondents preferred informal help rather than professional help. Therefore, more research should focus on the unmet needs of clients with ACE exposure, how those needs are met through informal support systems, and implement them into professional systems. Since informal institutions seem to be a more favored form of help-seeking behavior, they need to receive the resources that are pertinent to help those who have been exposed to ACEs. In addition, further research should explore how coping strategies can also mediate the relationship between ACE exposure and psychological discomfort. ACEs may influence emotional regulation thereby leading to the different types of coping strategies people utilize,


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like problem-focused (PF) or avoidant emotional-focused (AEF), where PF strategies are more effective and have more beneficial outcomes than AEF strategies (Sheffler, Piazza, Quinn, Sachs-Ericsson & Stanley, 2019). Due to the mediational link between ACEs and emotional regulation and a relationship between emotional regulation and coping strategies, there may be noteworthy interactions between these three variables. Also, future research should explore individual differences in the predispositions of resiliency in young adults and how these individual differences play a role in how they report ACE exposure and their negative effects from it. Research should also focus on accessible protective factors that can contribute to resilient functioning to help combat vulnerabilities experienced from ACE exposure. Lastly, future research should help break the cycle of ACE exposure by educating community partners on beneficial resources they can provide to parents who are at-risk of exposing their children to ACEs. This can simply be explaining the outcomes of various parenting styles and granting caregivers the opportunity to learn better parenting skills. Authoritative parents are characterized as having high levels of acceptance and demandingness resulting in the child having a secure attachment to their guardian; these children have an overall higher level of confidence, satisfaction with their lives, and less controversy within their intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships (Ebrahimi, Amiri, Mohamadlou & Rezapur, 2017). Whereas children who come from authoritarian, permissive, and neglectful parents tend to form an ambivalent or avoidant attachment style are characterized to have depressive moods, anger, sadness, and low levels of self-control and self-esteem. Authoritative, permissive, and neglectful parenting styles exhibit behaviors that contribute or coincide with conditions that are ACEs and are predictive of depressive symptoms and behaviors from childhood into adulthood (Ebrahimi, Amiri, Mohamadlou & Rezapur, 2017). Educating society on the skills attributed with the authoritarian parenting style can help combat the rate of exposure children are experiencing.


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References Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality (2017). National survey on drug use and health: Methodological summary and definitions. Rockville MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2019). Adverse childhood experiences. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention. Cloitre, M., Khan, C., Mackintosh, M.A., Garvert, D. W., Henn-Haase, C. M., Falvey, E. C., & Saito, J. (2019). Emotion regulation mediates the relationship between ACES and physical and mental health. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 11(1), 82–89. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0000374. Ebrahimi, L., Amiri, M., Mohamadlou, M., & Rezapur, R. (2017). Attachment styles, parenting styles, and depression. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 15(5), 1064–1068. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-017-9770-y. Felitti, V. J., Anda, R. F., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D. F., Spitz, A. M., Edwards, V., Koss, M. P., & Marks, J. S. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults: The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 14(4), 245-258. https://dx.doi. org/10.1016/S0749-3797(98)00017-8. Howell, K. H., & Miller-Graff, L. E. (2014). Protective factors associated with resilient functioning in young adulthood after childhood exposure to violence. Child Abuse & Neglect, 38(12), 1985–1994. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2014.10.010 Karatekin, C. (2019) Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and help-seeking for health-related interventions in young adults. The Journal of Psychology, 153(1), 6-22. https://doi.or g/10.1080/00223980.2018.1476316. Lopez, R. B., & Denny, B. T. (2019). Negative affect mediates the relationship between use of emotion regulation strategies and general health in college-aged students. Personality and Individual Differences, 151, Article 109529. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. paid.2019.109529. Moore, K. A., & Ramirez, A. N. (2016). Adverse childhood experience and adolescent well-being: Do protective factors matter?. Child Indicators Research, 9(2), 299-316. https://doi. org/10.1007/s12187-015-9324-4 Overstreet, C., Berenz, E. C., Kendler, K. S., Dick, D. M., & Amstadter, A. B. (2017). Predictors and mental health outcomes of potentially traumatic event exposure. Psychiatry Research, 247, 296–304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2016.10.047. Poole, J. C., Dobson, K. S., & Pusch, D. (2017). Childhood adversity and adult depression: The protective role of psychological resilience. Child Abuse & Neglect, 64, 89–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2016.12.012 Porche, M. V., Costello, D. M., & Rosen-Reynoso, M. (2016). Adverse family experiences, child mental health, and educational outcomes for a national sample of students. School Mental Health: A Multidisciplinary Research and Practice Journal, 8(1), 44–60. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-016-9174-3. Resilient (2020). The Cambridge Dictionary. The Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/resilient. Sheffler, J. L., Piazza, J. R., Quinn, J. M., Sachs-Ericsson, N. J., & Stanley, I. H. (2019). Adverse childhood experiences and coping strategies: Identifying pathways to resiliency in adulthood. Anxiety, Stress & Coping: An International Journal. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615806.2019.1638699. Taylor, D. L., Espeleta, H. C., Kraft, J. D., & Grant, D. M. (2019). Early childhood experiences and cognitive risk factors for anxiety symptoms among college students. Journal of


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American College Health. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/074 48481.2019.1664552. Watson, David, O’Hara, Michael W., Simms, Leonard J., Kotov, Roman, Chmielewski, Michael, McDade-Montez, Elizabeth A., Gamez, Wakiza, & Stuart, Scott (2007). Development and validation of the Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms (IDAS). Psychological Assessment, 19(3), 253-268. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/10403590.19.3.253. Victor, S. E., & Klonsky, E. D. (2016). Validation of a brief version of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-18) in five samples. Journal of Pyschopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 26(1), 41-54. World Health Organization. (2017). Depression and other common mental disorders: global health estimates (No. WHO/MSD/MER/2017.2). World Health Organization.

About the Author Kelly Timlen is a rising Senior from Ellicott City, Maryland, majoring in Psychology with minors in Leadership and Childhood Studies. She is a member of the President’s Leadership Program, Psi Chi, Alpha Chi, and founded the Family Focus Club at CNU and is also employed as a Service Site Team Leader through the Center for Community Engagement for a local community partner VCE, FCS Family Focus Grafton which is a nonprofit organization that provides resources and support for families to help prevent childhood abuse and neglect. She started volunteering at this location at the start of her Freshman year and has continued to serve there every year since. Her work with this organization has been the highlight of her time at CNU as it has allowed her to develop amazing relationships with the families we serve, the staff members, and other CNU volunteers. It has also given her a passion to help vulnerable families receive education and resources on effective parenting styles which she hopes to continue after graduating. She plans to attend graduate school for a Master’s in clinical mental health counseling with a goal of becoming a licensed professional counselor for children and families.


“An Econometric Analysis on the Decrease in Crime Since the 1990s� Benjamin Yung Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Travis Taylor, Department of Economics

Abstract This paper examines the decrease in crime from the early 1990s onward and the various factors that are commonly associated with this decrease. Scholars in the field of crime economics often disagree on what factors significantly affect the decrease in crime. The data focused nature of this research paper aims to cut past cultural stigmas and misconceptions to provide a clarifying image of what factors have played an important role in decreasing crime. The economic and statistical significance of variables on the crime rate is determined by employing two different econometric models; an ordinary least squares regression and a random forest model. The results of these two models are studied and compared to check the consistency of the research. Of the four independent variables observed in this research, abortion rates and cell phones sold were the only statistically significant factors. The models estimate it takes 40,000 abortions or 18.5 million cellphones sold yearly to decrease the crime rate by .01%. This shows that the legalization of abortion and the increase in cell phone use since the early 1990s have both played large roles in the decrease in crime rates. However, further research could be useful to determine the causality between cell phone usage and crime rates.


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Introduction/Importance After gradually climbing over the 1980s and eventually peaking in 1991, violent and property crime rates have followed a steady decline over the past thirty years. Research on the decrease in crime provides valuable information that allows policymakers and law enforcement to more effectively further reduce crime rates and prevent imprudent spending on ineffective policies. While important, research on the key factors driving crime rates has produced a wide range of explanations and has failed to create clarity in the field. This occurs because research on crime deals highly in human behavior making trends in the data much less predictable than trends in economic or financial data. Plausible explanations for this decrease have centered around, but are not limited to, an increase in police employment, economic prosperity, gun ownership, and abortion. In 2004, Steven Levitt published a benchmark publication in the field: Understanding Why Crime Fell in the 1990s: Four Factors that Explain the Decline and Six that Do Not. Levitt (2004) critically analyzes multiple factors that may affect crime rates and works to clarify what factors are significant versus what factors are not. The research in the following paper takes inspiration from the model of Levitt (2004) and will likewise compare the significance of various factors. In this paper, econometric models such as ordinary linear squares and a random forest model will be used to find the factors that have the most significance on crime rates in the United States. This paper will begin with a literature review outlining the four factors chosen for this study: police employment, economic prosperity, abortion, and technology. Once these four factors are laid out, a methods section will explain the process and reasoning behind the collection of data and the creation of models used to interpret the data. In section three, the results of the models are interpreted. Finally, sections four and five offer a brief discussion on the limitations to this study followed by the concluding remarks of the study. Factors

Previous literature on the decrease in crime finds multiple different factors that may affect. From this literature, four key factors have been selected to build my research. From a mathematical view, the crime function is as follows: Crime = f(P, E, A, T) In which, P = Police Employment E = Economic Prosperity A = Abortions T = Technology Police Employment The effect police employment has on the crime rate is inherently hard to measure due to an issue with endogeneity. This means the true significance of police employment is masked because while OLS regression will pick up the effect rising police employment has on crime, it also picks up the reverse effect that crime has on police employment. Recent studies have used a variety of techniques to only pick up the effect police employment has on crime. Corman and Mocan (2000) use a simple method of analyzing police employment over monthly intervals as opposed to annually. In this research, they argue that monthly intervals are too close to pick up the delayed effect of police adjusting their employment to meet crime demand. Using this data, Corman and Mocan found the elasticity of crime in regards to the total number of police employment and that depending on the category of crime, elasticity ranges from -.29 to -1.385. Di Tella and Schargrodsky (2004) were able to use a terror attack on a Jewish center in Buenos Aires, Argentina to create a randomized control trial to better estimate the significance of police presence on crime. After the attack, police presence was increased at all Jewish centers around the city. The authors attempt to tackle the endogeneity problem by looking at


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crime on a street by street level. At this level, Di Tella and Schargodsky were able to view the change in crime rates on streets with boosted police presence against streets without increased police presence. This research showed that there was a strong negative relationship between the crime rate and police presence. The variable measuring police employment is expected to have a negative relationship with the crime rate. Economic Prosperity The state of the economy has extreme implications on the lives of individuals. As the economy fluctuates over time, the quality of life of individuals will be greatly affected. Many researchers believe that as the quality of life and socioeconomic status declines, individuals will be more likely to be pushed to committing crimes. Becker (1968) finds that as economic well-being increases, the level of crime for financial gain decreases. Rosenfeld (2007) finds crime trends are related to subjective economic indicators such as consumer sentiment. Rosenfeld finds that from 1960-2007, consumer pessimism accounted for up to 49.6% of changes in property crimes. Rosenfeld explains this correlation by stating that the demand for stolen goods increases during economic downturns. While this factor makes sense intuitively, it fails to explain why during the 2008 financial crisis, median household income dropped over 3% and unemployment rose 5% yet in 2009 the US experienced its largest decrease in crime since 1996. The unexpected continuation of the decrease in crime during the period post-market crash suggests while economic prosperity should have a negative correlation with crime rates, it may not be strongly correlated. Abortion Donohue and Levitt (2001) argue that legalized abortion reduces crime due to smaller cohort sizes. As the smaller groups of children grow into their teen years and into the years where they are most likely to commit a crime, there are fewer individuals to commit crimes. In addition, legalized abortion reduces the number of unwanted pregnancies; Levitt points out that unwanted pregnancies are statistically more likely to be raised in poor, unprepared conditions. Donohue and Levitt’s research finds: “The evidence [..] is consistent with legalized abortion reducing crime rates with a twenty-year lag. Our results suggest that an increase of 100 abortions per 1000 live births reduces a cohort’s crime by roughly 10 percent. Extrapolating our results out of sample to a counterfactual in which abortion remained illegal and the number of illegal abortions performed remained steady at the 1960s level, we estimate that (with average national effective abortion rates in 1997 for all three crimes ranging from between 142 and 252) crime was almost 15–25 percent lower in 1997 than it would have been absent legalized abortion.” Recent research from the Brennan Center for Justice disagrees with Levitt’s belief that abortion rates have a substantial effect on crime rates. Bowling et al. (n.d.) state that while in the late 1990s, abortion rates were a disputed factor of the decrease in crime, modern research shows it does not affect crime. While the strength of the link between abortions and crime is in question, the correlation is expected to be negative. Technology A largely under-researched factor on the decrease in crime is the increase in technology. Researchers have focused on cell phones in particular as a measure of the spread of technology over the past 30 years. Klick et al. (2012) find statistically significant data that cell phone adoption has a negative effect on crime. Research using cell phones and technology in the analysis of crime is a new trend that still has issues. While correlation is clear in studies, the causation of the relationship is unknown. Cell phones may act as a proxy for overall surveillance; showing that as more persons own cell phones there are more ways to report and record crimes. This increased surveillance could be the causal factor, but further research has not determined this. A technology variable such as cell phone usage is expected to have a negative correlation with


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the rate of crime in my research. Methods

Using the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Crime Data Explorer (CDE), a panel dataset is compiled including observations from 1986-2018 from 49 U.S. states. Due to a lack of reporting by state officials, crime data for Mississippi is partially missing from the CDE dataset and has been left out of the dataset. This dataset records yearly totals of the population, number of total violent crimes, homicides, rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults as well as total property crimes, burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft. Using these records, four more variables were added to the dataset, total crimes reported, change in total crimes reported per year, and versions of both of these variables scaled to their state’s population at the time. The scaled versions were important to add because variation in state size prevents consistent crime results and would skew the OLS predictions. The scaled versions of the variable, total crimes reported, or change in total crimes reported divided by the state population, are commonly referred to as the crime rate. The variables compiled from the CDE dataset are used as the dependent variables in the various models in this study. The independent variables (economic prosperity, cell phone usage, abortions, and police employment) were added to the dataset from multiple sources. Economic prosperity is measured using the Coincident Economic Activity Index at the state level. This index is created by the Federal Reserve Bank monthly and is the composition of four indicators: payroll employment (nonfarm), the unemployment rate, hours worked in manufacturing and wages, and salaries. To measure cell phones, a variable was created listing the number of cell phones sold yearly. Unfortunately, this data is only available at the national level so the same data is applied to each of the 49 states in the dataset. Abortion data comes in two forms: total legal abortions yearly and legal abortions per 1,000 live births. Using the CDE data, it was found that around one-third of all violent and property crimes are committed by individuals in the age range of 20-29. The abortion data collected is lagged twenty years to simulate the effect of abortion on crime. Lastly, data on police employment can be found from the CDE police employment dataset. This data is sorted into four sections: male officers, female officers, male civilians, and female civilians. It is important to note that in this case, the specification “civilians” refers to civilian law enforcement; this includes crime analysts, dispatchers, planners, and more. These sections are then consolidated into two new variables: total police employment, and total officers. This data is scaled to number of employed per 1,000 citizens. Two models, OLS regression and random forest machine learning are created using the total 49 states. The dataset contains a total of 1,616 observations with 27 variables. In both models, only five of the 27 variables are used. OLS Model The first of the two models used in this research is an ordinary least squares model. To ensure changes in population size are not skewing the data, the crime rate is used as the dependent variable. The independent variables measured are the legal abortion rate, the yearly change in the Coincident Economic Activity Index, and the total number of cell phones sold each year and the yearly change in police employment (measured by police per 1,000 citizens). Because the dependent variable correlates within its own time intervals, running a standard ordinary least squares model with this set of variables can cause an issue with autocorrelation which leads to the data being unreliable. Autocorrelation occurs because if a state experiences a crime rate of .05 in 1998, the crime rate in 1999 is unlikely to differ too far from .05. Standard OLS models may fail to realize that the dependent variable is predicting itself


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and may assign significance to insignificant factors. To adjust for this problem, a new method of calculating p-values (heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation consistent (HAC) covariance matrix estimation) is applied to the OLS model. This method can be applied to the model in R with the function, “coeftest(mod_ols, vcov = vcovHAC)�. The ordinary least squares equation is as follows: Crime rate = a0 + a1abortions + a2economicindex + a3cellphones + a4policechange + e Table 1. Estimate

Standard Error

T-Value

Pr (>|t|)

(Intercept)

5.1935e-02

2.0091e-03

25.8505

< 2.2e-16

***

Abortion

-2.5366e-09

8.9750e-10

-2.8263

0.004767

**

ECONINDEX

-4.8438e-05

1.1946e-04

-0.4055

0.685189

Cellphones

-5.4356e-11

3.7012e-12

-14.6861

< 2.2e-16

Police change

-5.6330e-05

5.2962e-04

-0.1064

0.915310

R-squared:

***

0.406

Adjusted R-squared: 0.4045 Table 1 above shows the regression output from the OLS model with HAC covariance estimation applied. The first thing to note is the low R-Squared and Adjusted R-Squared. This can be forgiven to an extent because this regression measures human activity which has naturally large levels of exogenous variables that affect an individual’s decision to commit a crime. While the independent variables in this model will attempt to predict the data as well as possible, the model will only be able to predict a small percentage of variation. In this case, around 40% of the variation in the data is predicted by the model. The coefficients of this OLS regression show that all of the signs are as expected; increases in the police, cell phones, abortions, and economic prosperity all decrease the prevalence of crime. Out of the four independent variables selected, abortion rate and cellphones were the only two factors significant at a p<.05 level. The coefficient for abortion is estimated at -2.5366e-09. This coefficient means that with 40,000 additional abortions, the crime rate drops by around .01%. The coefficient for cellphones is even smaller, estimated at -5.4356e-11. This means that every 18.5 million additional cellphones sold in the United States drop the crime rate by around .01%. Additional diagnostic plots illustrating how the data fits the OLS model including a residuals vs. fitted plot, normal Q-Q plot, scale-location plot, and residuals vs leverage plot are included in the appendix of this paper. Random Forest Model The second model, the random forest model, is a machine learning model that uses a forest of decision trees to estimate and predict based on independent variables. A benefit of using this model is that, like OLS, it is easy to interpret and can assign measurable importance to each of the variables. Using a second model allows for cross-checking the initial OLS model to reference the importance of variables. The random forest model using the same variables as the OLS model achieved an accuracy of .467 (46.7%) in predicting crime rates. In figure 1, two measurements of importance are shown, the percent increase in mean squared error


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and an increase in node purity. The first measurement, the percent increase in mean squared error is computed by scrambling the data in the variable in question; this effectively removes all significance to the variable. Mean square error is calculated before and after the variable is scrambled and the difference is recorded. The larger change in MSE means that the variable is more significant. The second measurement is a measurement of node purity; this shows how efficiently each variable splits the data. In both of these measurements, cell phone sales stuck out as the most significant variable followed by abortions. Figure 1.

Study Limitations Multiple limitations remain in this research and should be kept in mind while either interpreting the results or attempting to expand on the research. First, police employment is a variable that has issues with endogeneity and its results can be skewed. Some previous studies on crime have found ways to attempt to cut out the endogeneity. Following a similar logic to Corman and Mocan (2000), this study used the yearly change in police employment per 1,000 citizens. This fixed the issue of high crime states employing more law enforcement than low crime states. Due to the large number of observations that include 49 different states, the issue of endogeneity was made better but not fixed entirely. Second, in 2013 the UCR expanded its definition of rape. This revised definition caused all rape statistics pre-2013 to be substantially underreported. This sudden change in qualifications creates what looks like a large spike in the data for 2013 and onward. While this does skew the data slightly by creating a false increase in rape from 2013 onward, rape statistics do not make up a large enough percentage of total crimes to affect the trend to a large extent. In any future research where rape statistics are used as more central data, all pre-2013 numbers would have to be estimated to reach their true values. Lastly, although cell phone sales were the most significant variable in training the random forest model, the variable itself fails to tell researchers much. As mentioned earlier in the paper this strong relationship could be caused by the increased levels of surveillance due to cell phones, but it is not entirely clear.


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Conclusion Using output data from both an ordinary least squares regression and a random forest machine learning model, it was confirmed that cell phone sales and legalized abortions have a considerable impact on crime rates. The ordinary least squares model found that cell phone sales and abortion have statistically significant effects on the crime rate. The random forest model supported the findings of the ordinary least squares model by listing the cell phone sales and abortion as the two most significant variables. As stated in Levitt (2001), the significance of the abortion rate has a straightforward explanation. The large decrease in crime beginning in 1992 occurred 22 years after abortion was legalized in 1970. Due to abortion, modern generations of children grow into their twenties having been raised in better-prepared households and have much lower propensities to commit crimes. The correlation between the crime rate and cell phones sold is less straightforward. Looking at the correlation from a straightforward standpoint, cell phones offer both bystanders and victims the ability to record and report crimes in real-time. This increases the likelihood of punishment and makes the marginal cost too high for many potential criminals. The cell phone variable additionally works as a proxy for the overall development of technology over time. This explains the correlation between the two variables to a broader extent. As technology expands, more data is being stored, more surveillance is in place, and individuals are increasingly connected. Because of the expansion of technology, crime is becoming increasingly hard to get away with. This paper does not examine the causality of the cell phone variable in-depth, but future research on the subject could be beneficial to the field of crime research.


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References Becker, Gary. 1968. “Crime and Punishment: An Economic Approach.” Journal of Political Economy. 76:2, pp. 169–217. Bowling, J., Eisen, L. B., and Roeder, O., (n.d.) What Caused the Crime Decline? Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. Corman, Hope and H. Naci Mocan. 2000. “A Time-Series Analysis of Crime, Deterrence, and Drug Abuse in New York City.” American Economic Review. June, 90, pp. 584– 604. Di Tella, R., & Schargrodsky, E. (2004). Do Police Reduce Crime? Estimates Using the Allocation of Police Forces after a Terrorist Attack. The American Economic Review, 94(1), 115133. Retrieved April 24, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/3592772 Donohue, J. J., & Levitt, S. D. (2001). The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Volume CXVI (Issue 2), 379-420. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: Crime Data Explorer Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Coincident Economic Activity Index for the United States [USPHCI], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https://fred. stlouisfed.org/series/USPHCI, April 27, 2020. Klick, Jonathan; MacDonald, John; and Stratmann, Thomas, (2012). “Mobile Phones and Crime Deterrence: An Underappreciated Link”. Faculty Scholarship at Penn Law. 426. https:// scholarship.law.upenn.edu/faculty_scholarship/426 Lauritsen, J.L., Rezey, M.L. & Heimer, K. (2016). When Choice of Data Matters: Analyses of U.S. Crime Trends, 1973–2012. J Quant Criminol 32, 335–355. Levitt, S. D. (2004). Understanding Why Crime Fell in the 1990s: Four Factors that Explain the Decline and Six that Do Not. Journal of Economic Perspectives, Volume 18(Number 1), 163–190. National Research Council. (2014). The Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Exploring Causes and Consequences. Committee on Causes and Consequences of High Rates of Incarceration, J. Travis, B. Western, and S. Redburn, Editors. Committee on Law and Justice, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Reyes, J. W., (2007). Environmental Policy as Social Policy? The Impact of Childhood Lead Exposure on Crime. The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, Volume 7, (Issue 1). Rosenfeld, R. (2007). Crime and the Economy: Break with the Past? National Conference of State Legislature. University of Missouri - St. Louis.


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Appendix

Figure 11

Figure 22

The residuals vs leverage plot aims to find influential data points that may skew the OLS results. Influential data points would appear in the upper or lower right corners. 2 The Scale-Location plot checks for the assumption of homoscedasticity in OLS. 1


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Figure 33

Figure 44

3 4

The Normal Q-Q illustrates whether the residuals are normally distributed. The Residuals vs Fitted plot illustrates whether the residuals have a non-linear pattern.


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About the Author Benjamin Yung has an interest in data analytics and graduated in 2020 with a B.A. in Economics and Political Science. Next year, he has plans to attend the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce to pursue a M.S. in Commerce with a specialization in Business Analytics. During his time as an undergraduate, he worked as a research assistant for Dr. Taiyi Sun, served on the executive board of Sigma Phi Epsilon, served as the president of the Economics and Finance Club, and was a member of the CEE Fund. Ben hopes his econometric based research on crime rates can help provide insight and educate readers on what policies have played significant roles on the substantial decrease in crime since the 1990s.




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