bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Conflict, Repression and Resistance from Colonialism to Military Rule
Authors: Matelski Maaike
Published: May 2024

This chapter provides a historical background to the protracted period of military rule in Burma/Myanmar. Starting from British colonialism, it discusses how contestations over territory, political structures and ethnic minority rights have been recurring since before independence and provided a motive for the military to continue its rule. Tensions as a result of ethnic diversity had been exacerbated during British colonialism and were far from solved when the military staged a coup in 1962. The nominally socialist military government faced a number of popular uprisings, notably in 1988, which resulted in a military reshuffle. Elections were held in 1990 and won by Aung San Suu Kyi, but the outcome was never honoured. Armed ethnic resistance continued in the borderlands, while a Burman-dominated ‘democracy movement’ was established, partly from exile, in the 1990s. The military’s ‘Roadmap to Democracy’ and its new constitution imposed during the occurrence of cyclone Nargis in 2008 resulted in the 2010 elections, which marked the start of a political transition period under the Union Solidarity and Development Party government. The political situation in central Myanmar improved temporarily, while the fate of most ethnic groups in the border areas deteriorated.
Diversity and Fault Lines in Burmese Civil Society
Authors: Matelski Maaike
Published: May 2024

In order to analyse the activities and advocacy positions of various civil society groups, this chapter discusses diversity in identities and positions within Myanmar civil society and the fault lines that can be identified between different groups based on ethnicity and religion, gender and generation, class and education level, and location inside or outside the country. The role of Buddhist monks, student activists and the democracy movement in exile as the most visible actors in Myanmar’s civil society is put into perspective. This chapter also discusses civil society’s various levels of independence from the state, and the role of so-called government-organized NGOs. Lastly, it reflects on the elitist nature of some professionalized civil society organizations and their relationship with grassroots activism, with particular reference to the so-called Third Force that emerged in Myanmar at the start of the political transition.
Room to Manoeuvre under Authoritarian Rule
Authors: Matelski Maaike
Published: May 2024

This chapter discusses how civil society actors in Myanmar organized and manoeuvred under restricted civic space. Citing emerging literature on China and Vietnam, it challenges assumptions of civil society actors under authoritarian rule as highly constrained. Rather, it demonstrates their skilled manoeuvring in Myanmar to conduct activities contributing to social and political change while remaining under the radar of the government. Given the high levels of repression and surveillance under military rule, the term ‘contingent symbiosis’ (Spires, 2011) is used to describe the unequal but nevertheless two-sided state–civil society relations from which each party seeks to benefit. The case of Myanmar under authoritarian rule demonstrates the need to look beyond visible manifestations of civil society in the political sphere such as mass protests and pay attention to context-sensitive activities and tactics that may not be immediately visible to outside observers.
Transnational Advocacy Strategies and Pathways to Change
Authors: Matelski Maaike
Published: May 2024

This chapter describes what depictions of civil society gained international prominence around Myanmar’s political transition, and what role civil society actors themselves played in influencing these depictions. Civil society actors in Myanmar and in exile interacted with a range of domestic and foreign actors in order to convey their priorities for social and political change. After cyclone Nargis in 2008, different views emerged regarding the role of local and international organizations in providing humanitarian aid. Using theoretical insights on collective action frames by social movements, this chapter analyses the different campaign strategies and framing efforts by these various actors. During the political transition, activists from exile and from within the country had increased opportunities to encounter each other, which led to new insights but also conflicting views about each other’s roles.
Interrupted Transition and Post-coup Resistance
Authors: Matelski Maaike
Published: May 2024

This chapter zooms in on civil society’s responses to Myanmar’s military coup of February 2021 and its renewed search for inter-group solidarity and international attention. It discusses the role of elected politicians and civil society representatives in the newly formed National Unity Government, a shadow body to the military State Administration Council. Since the coup, these two entities have contested for local legitimacy and global recognition. After months of peaceful protest and violent repression, some citizens turned to armed resistance by forming People’s Defence Forces, many of which were trained by ethnic armed organizations in the border region. This led to new questions regarding representation and agenda setting on behalf of the Myanmar population, as well as debates regarding effective and acceptable forms of resistance. Civil servants formed the Civil Disobedience Movement by refusing to work for the government in health care, infrastructure or education, while those who did not participate faced social punishment. The nationwide anti-coup protests had an emancipatory effect on various marginalized groups, with women, youth, ethnic and sexual minorities playing a more prominent and visible role than before. The post-coup resistance movement also displayed public support for the plight of the Rohingya.
Family and Close Relationships
Authors: Levin Jack , Wiest Julie B.
Published: May 2024

This chapter expands on important findings from the exploratory study of reclassified U.S. deaths, including: (1) that the perpetrators and victims in cases of covertly committed murder are disproportionately more likely to have shared a familial or other close relationship, compared to those involved in overtly committed incidents; and (2) that women appear to commit covert acts of violence at far higher rates than is reported in official data on violent crime. While the former finding is closely linked to the social institution of the family—particularly because of the close access that is often required for a perpetrator to commit covert violence (for example, a would-be poisoner would have more opportunities if targeting a member of their own household or with whom they maintain a trusting relationship, compared to targeting a more suspicious stranger)—the latter finding illustrates the connection between covert violence and powerlessness. Multiple examples of covert violence that have occurred within families and close relationships are included to illustrate these connections.
Politics and Government
Authors: Levin Jack , Wiest Julie B.
Published: May 2024

This chapter examines a wide range of violent acts that have been surreptitiously perpetrated throughout history and around the world. Covert violence has always played an important role in supplementing conventional warfare, and clandestine attacks by weaker operatives have had devastating consequences—even in a country like the United States that is widely known for its military might (for example, the December 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japanese forces and the September 11, 2001 attacks perpetrated by al-Qaeda terrorists). Moreover, clandestine biological warfare has a centuries-long history around the world; from 1155 to 1863, documented attacks between political rivals included: contaminating water wells with dead bodies, selling wine mixed with the blood of leprosy patients, launching projectiles coated with the saliva of rabid dogs, and distributing blankets and clothing contaminated with smallpox and yellow fever. Plenty of examples can also be found throughout the 20th century—particularly during the two World Wars—as well as in the 21st century. Although any combatant might conceivably decide to employ clandestine weapons and/or to strike surreptitiously, one with a large power deficit that is nonetheless desperate to win might be especially likely to resort to covert acts of violence.
Divine Anarchy? The Development of the Auroville Polity
Authors: Aswini Clarence-Smith Suryamayi
Published: May 2024

This chapter discusses the founding spiritual and anarchic ideals for Auroville as a polity, and how these are linked to its aspiration of prefiguring a spiritualized society. It examines the evolution of Auroville’s political organization and practices since its founding years, the modes and institutions of internal governance developed by the community, and its flexible and prefigurative process of institutionalization. In so doing, it provides a revelatory case study of this exceptionally durable example of a horizontal, self-governing polity, while also considering concerns with, and recent points of departure from, the community’s heretofore horizontal processes of political organization. The chapter further includes a critical discussion on Auroville’s relationship with the Indian government, reflecting on how this historically enabled the community’s internal anarchic practice, while also addressing concerns of government co-optation.
‘No Exchange of Money’? The Development of Auroville’s Communal Economy
Authors: Aswini Clarence-Smith Suryamayi
Published: May 2024

This chapter critically examines the development of Auroville’s communal economic framework, institutions and policies, and how the community’s founding economic ideals have galvanized, underpinned and informed these, and continue to do so. In so doing, it reveals the legal, financial and administrative challenges of prefiguring an alternative economy in a dominant capitalist mainstream, as well as the critical and reflexive nature of Auroville’s utopian practice. Empirically, this chapter contributes a significant case study of alternative and prefigurative economic organization, which is particularly relevant for practices of participatory budgeting and non-monetary forms of provision, universal basic services, and basic income policy programmes.
The German Migration Integration Regime
Authors: Etzel Morgan
Published: May 2024

Syrian refugees who sought asylum in Germany underwent an intensive integration regime. This resulted in binary notions of ‘well-integrated’ migrants versus those who failed to fulfil the narrow definitions of a ‘good’ refugee, thus straining the relationship between refugees and the state. This book examines the relationship that refugees have with the administrative state through the perspective of the integration regime. While some asylum seekers gained international protection, others were left with limited agency to demand government accountability for the ever-moving target of integration.
This book provides an ethnography of Syrian refugees who sought asylum in Germany during this period and shows how they navigated the terms of conditional inclusion defined both legally and socially in order to ‘successfully’ integrate into German society. This narrow form of integration is defined by learning the German language and gaining financial independence, which is incentivized via access to permanent residency or German citizenship through achievements like contributions to federal retirement schemes or higher language certificates. The book is presented from a historical context of the so-called European refugee crisis of 2015 and is divided three parts. Part I deals with arrival and asylum applications in German. Part II addresses the integration regime at large, exploring language courses and attempts to gain employment. Part III deals with the potential outcomes for Syrian refugees, answering the following question: what occurs when conditions of inclusion are fulfilled?
Introduction
Authors: Etzel Morgan
Published: May 2024

This introductory chapter begins with a reflective, ethnographic narrative introduction to my personal experience that led me to the subject of this volume. It presents the central themes of crisis, mobility, bureaucracy and, most importantly, what I call the German integration regime. It explains the integration regime as not only a supranational bureaucratic framework of refugee controls, but also a shifting social imaginary, and influences the formulation of refugee law and the way in which such law is interpreted. The framework combines a governmentality approach (Foucault 2011) and themes from Taylor’s (2004) definition of social imaginaries. It positions the work from the historical perspective of both the Syrian civil war and the development of German migration policy. This chapter outlines the ethnographic fieldwork that began in 2015 on the Turkish border with Syria and continued until 2020 – spanning three years of ethnographic fieldwork in longitudinal participant observation, expert interviews and informal interviews in several German migration and welfare state administrations. The chapter provides an overview of this volume that follows the path refugees are expected to follow in the integration regime: beginning with asylum application processing, then language learning and accreditation or further education, and finishing with financial independence.
Children’s Agency and Co-construction of Everyday Militarism(s): Representations and Realities of War in Ukrainian Children’s Art, 2014–2022
Authors: Hook Kristina , Hoban Iuliia
Published: May 2024

Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine stunned the world with its brutal violence against civilians, including children, yet the conflict had already claimed 14,000 lives and profoundly affected Ukraine’s youngest generation. Utilizing ethnographic data, we explore how wartime mobilization and direct violence transformed children’s lived experiences during 2014–2022. As violence restricted important childhood development activities, other expressions became more influential. Ukrainian children’s art programmes reveal a pervasive militarization before 2022. We examine children’s roles and representations as adult actions shaped their developing conceptions of ‘normal’ while incentivizing them to reproduce militarization within prevailing social frameworks. Narrowing the boundaries of acceptable conflict interpretations and encouraging children to reproduce adult-generated conflict narratives, the programmes impede children’s agency but simultaneously provide spaces for agency and resistance to emerge in their reflections and representations. We theorize about children’s agency in global politics, exploring intersections with militarism, structural and direct violence, and security paradigms.
High-power distributed feedback laser diode arrays with narrow spectral width over a wide temperature range
Authors: Liu Zhenwu , Liu Suping , Wang Cuiluan , Zhao Fang , Xing Wang , Xiong Cong , Zhu Lingni , Ma Xiaoyu
Published: May 2024

High-power semiconductor lasers with stabilized wavelengths are recognized as exemplary pumping sources for solid-state lasers. This study introduces distributed feedback (DFB) laser diode arrays designed to maintain an extensive temperature locking range. We report experimentally on high-power 808 nm DFB laser diode arrays. The first-order sinusoidal grating was fabricated using nanoimprint lithography, succeeded by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) dry etching and subsequent wet polishing. These 808 nm DFB laser diode arrays have demonstrated a measured output power of 134 W under a pulsed current of 150 A, with the heat sink temperature maintained at 25°C. The slope efficiency was determined to be 1.1 W/A. At a current of 150 A, the laser operated with a narrow spectral width over a wide temperature range, extending from −30 to 90°C, with a temperature drift coefficient of 0.0595 nm/K.
The enduring nature of cranberry production in a changing climate: The interplay of extreme weather, knowledge networks, and adaptation
Authors: Pisani Gareau Tara L. , Gao Lijing , Gareau Brian J.
Published: May 2024

Anthropogenic climate change is causing critical issues in agriculture, including cranberry production; however, in a previous study the majority of Massachusetts cranberry growers were less likely to see global warming as a threat than the general US population, and more still reported to be little worried about such warming. This research aims to determine the influence of weather and professional information disseminated to cranberry growers on their climate change adaptation. The authors used a mixed-methods, interdisciplinary approach, including content analysis of around 300 issues of UMass Extension’s Cranberry Station monthly newsletter—a widely trusted source of information in the cranberry grower “network of knowledge”—along with historical weather data from 1974 to 2020, and interview and survey data. Despite infrequent usage of direct communication on climate change and adaptation, UMass Extension’s communication on weather challenges in general showed a small but significant increase when monthly temperature anomalies increased. Meanwhile, anomalous monthly precipitation was negatively associated with total chemical mentions (linked to chemical use behavior). Climate impacts such as increased weeds, water issues (e.g., heavy rainfall, water scarcity), and heat waves ruining harvests were important to growers, leading to the adoption of both conventional (e.g., increased strategic flooding, barge sanding due to lack of ice) and emerging (e.g., smart irrigation, solar panel installations for added income) adaptive strategies. Growers demonstrate climate and technological optimism, believing that other growers are hit worse by climate change than themselves and that cranberry plant resilience, better weather forecasting, and improved irrigation technology will allow them to handle future weather challenges. The prioritization of immediate needs over the more abstract, long-term challenge of climate change by growers and the supporting system underscores the imperative to explore the socio-environmental dynamics that shape their climate responses in cranberry production.
miR-34a is a tumor suppressor in zebrafish and its expression levels impact metabolism, hematopoiesis and DNA damage
Authors: Prykhozhij Sergey V. , Ban Kevin , Brown Zane L. , Kobar Kim , Wajnberg Gabriel , Fuller Charlotte , Chacko Simi , Lacroix Jacynthe , Crapoulet Nicolas , Midgen Craig , Shlien Adam , Malkin David , Berman Jason N.
Published: May 2024

Li-Fraumeni syndrome is caused by inherited TP53 tumor suppressor gene mutations. MicroRNA miR-34a is a p53 target and modifier gene. Interestingly, miR-34 triple-null mice exhibit normal p53 responses and no overt cancer development, but the lack of miR-34 promotes tumorigenesis in cancer-susceptible backgrounds. miR-34 genes are highly conserved and syntenic between zebrafish and humans. Zebrafish miR-34a and miR-34b/c have similar expression timing in development, but miR-34a is more abundant. DNA damage by camptothecin led to p53-dependent induction of miR-34 genes, while miR-34a mutants were adult-viable and had normal DNA damage-induced apoptosis. Nevertheless, miR-34a-/- compound mutants with a gain-of-function tp53R217H/ R217H or tp53-/- mutants were more cancer-prone than tp53 mutants alone, confirming the tumor-suppressive function of miR-34a. Through transcriptomic comparisons at 28 hours post-fertilization (hpf), we characterized DNA damage-induced transcription, and at 8, 28 and 72 hpf we determined potential miR-34a-regulated genes. At 72 hpf, loss of miR-34a enhanced erythrocyte levels and up-regulated myb-positive hematopoietic stem cells. Overexpression of miR-34a suppressed its reporter mRNA, but not p53 target induction, and sensitized injected embryos to camptothecin but not to γ-irradiation.
Assessing the impact of institutional mistrust on parental endorsement for COVID-19 vaccination among school communities in San Diego County, California
Authors: Le Tina , Flores Marlene , Omaleki Vinton , Hassani Ashkan , Vo Anh V. , Wijaya F. Carrissa , Garfein Richard S. , Fielding-Miller Rebecca
Published: May 2024

Background

Institutional mistrust has weakened COVID-19 mitigation efforts. Assessing to what extent institutional mistrust impacts parental decision making is important in formulating structural efforts for improving future pandemic response. We hypothesized that institutional mistrust is associated with lower parental endorsement for COVID-19 vaccination.

Methods

We distributed an online survey among parents from schools in areas with high levels of social vulnerability relative to the rest of San Diego County. We defined vaccination endorsement as having a child aged 5 years or older who received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose or being very likely to vaccinate their child aged 6 months—4 years when eligible. Institutional mistrust reflected the level of confidence in institutions using an aggregate score from 11 to 44. We built a multivariable logistic regression model with potential confounding variables.

Findings

Out of 290 parents in our sample, most were female (87.6%), reported their child as Hispanic/Latino (73.4%), and expressed vaccination endorsement (52.1%). For every one-point increase in mistrust score, there was an 8% reduction in the likelihood of participants endorsing vaccination for their child. Other statistically significant correlates that were positively associated with vaccination endorsement included parent vaccination status, child age, parent age, and Hispanic/Latino ethnicity.

Conclusion

Our study further demonstrates how institutional mistrust hinders public response during health emergencies. Our findings also highlight the importance of building confidence in institutions and its downstream effects on pandemic preparedness and public health. One way that institutions can improve their relationship with constituents is through building genuine partnerships with trusted community figures.
Nutritional status, dietary habits, and their relation to cognitive functions: A cross-sectional study among the school aged (8–14 years) children of Bangladesh
Authors: Liza Mowshomi Mannan , Roy Simanta , Iktidar Mohammad Azmain , Chowdhury Sreshtha , Sharif Azaz Bin
Published: May 2024

Background

Limited research addressed links between nutritional status, dietary habits, and cognitive functions in young children. This study assessed the status of cognitive functions and their association with nutritional status and dietary habits of school age children of Bangladesh.

Methods

This cross-sectional multi-centre study was conducted on 776 participants in 11 conveniently selected educational institutions. A printed questionnaire with three sections (Section 1: background information, section 2: PedsQL™ Cognitive Functioning Scale, and section 3: semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire) was utilized for the data collection purpose. Sections 1 and 3 were self-reported by parents, and trained volunteers completed section 2 in-person along with the anthropometric measurements. Statistical analyses were done in Stata (v.16). Mean with standard deviation and frequencies with percentages were used to summarize quantitative and qualitative variables, respectively. Pearson’s chi-square test and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient were used to explore bivariate relationships.

Results

The mean age of the participants was 12.02±1.88 years, and the majority (67%) were females. The prevalence of poor cognitive function was 46.52%, and among them, 66.02% were females. In terms of body mass index (BMI), 22.44% possessed normal weight, 17.51% were overweight, and 5.19% were obese. This study found a statistically significant relationship between BMI and cognitive functions. Furthermore, different dietary components (e.g., protein, carbohydrate, fat, fiber, iron, magnesium) showed a significant (p<0.05 for all) weak positive correlation with cognitive function.

Conclusion

BMI and dietary habits were associated with the cognitive function of young children in Bangladesh. Although the cross-sectional design of the study precludes causal relationships from being determined, the study finding deserves further examination via longitudinal research.
An interview with Dr Christine Ballengee-Morris
Authors: Edson Rachael
Published: May 2024

This interview transcription with Dr Christine Ballengee-Morris explores her journey in art education, beginning with her childhood experiences and leading to her distinguished career as an educator, mentor and advocate for integrated curriculum. The conversation touches on her early exposure to art through family traditions, her pivotal decision to transition from accounting to art education, and the influential figures and experiences that shaped her educational philosophy. Dr Ballengee-Morris reflects on her commitment to collaboration, storytelling and Indigenous ways of knowing, emphasizing the importance of relationships in the educational process. The interview also delves into her legacy, the meaningful mentorships she has experienced, and her encounters with Paulo Freire, providing insights into her teaching philosophy influenced by liberation pedagogy. The interview captures a narrative of passion, resilience and a commitment to transformative education.
Effects of animal protein sources and sugarcane scraping-rumen content mixture on the performance of broiler chicken
Authors: Erikanobong Effiong
Published: May 2024

The experiment was carried out to access the effect of animal protein sources (fishmeal and grasshopper meal) and sugarcane scrapping-rumen content mixture (SSRCM) on the performance of broiler chickens. The experiment lasted for 56 days. Two hundred and forty-one- day-old (Abor acre) was randomly allotted to eight dietary treatments with 30 birds per treatment. Each treatment was replicated three times in a 4 by 2 factorial arrangement having 10 birds per replicate, vaccinations was administered, feed and clean drinking water were provided ad libitum. The diets were compounded to be isonitrogenous and isocaloric with two animal protein sources. Treatments (FM + 0% SSRCM) and (GM + 0% SSRCM) were formulated without sugarcane scrapping-rumen content mixture (SSRCM) while (FM + 5% SSRCM), (GM + 5% SSRCM), (FM + 10% SSRCM), (GM + 10% SSRCM), (FM + 15% SSRCM) and (GM + 15% SSRCM) were formulated with SSRCM at 5, 10 and 15% inclusion level respectively with two animal protein sources (fishmeal and grasshopper meal) with (FM + 0% SSRCM) serving as the control diet. The results obtained showed that there was no significant (p > 0.05) differences between fishmeal and grasshopper meal in growth performance of broiler chickens. The result also showed that there was no significant (p > 0.05) difference between 0% SSRCM and 5% SSRCM on weight gain of broilers but there was significant (p < 0.05) difference in growth performance of broiler chickens as the inclusion levels of SSRCM increased (10% and 15%). Based on these results, broiler chickens can strive well either grasshopper meal or fishmeal and sugarcane scrapping-rumen content mixture at 5% inclusion level relative to the other treatment.
Nutrient and environmental factors regulating western Lake Erie cyanobacterial blooms
Authors: Hounshell A.G. , Johnson L.T. , Stumpf R.P.
Published: May 2024

Over the past two decades, western Lake Erie has experienced recurring summer cyanobacterial blooms that pose severe negative impacts on human, animal, and ecological health. Previous research has identified a strong correlation between annual cyanobacterial bloom intensity and preceding spring (March-July) phosphorus loading from the Maumee river, the largest tributary to western Lake Erie, which is used to predict upcoming summer bloom severity. Maumee river spring phosphorus load, however, does not explain all the variation of bloom severity between years. Considering additional environmental parameters may help to better capture the physical and biogeochemical processes that regulate bloom severity, eventually leading to improved cyanobacterial forecasts which serve as an early warning for Lake Erie stakeholders. We aggregated various environmental parameters that may influence western Lake Erie cyanobacterial blooms to examine these factors as potential predictors for annual bloom severity. These included nitrogen and phosphorus loading from the Maumee river, freshwater discharge from the primary rivers and tributaries (Detroit, Huron, Raisin, Maumee, and Portage rivers), seasonal lake surface water temperature (mean winter, spring, and summer temperature), and Lake Erie winter ice extent and duration from 2002-2022. Empirical model results show that spring phosphorus loading, as total bioavailable phosphorus, from the Maumee river remains the dominant environmental factor controlling cyanobacterial blooms. However, additional environmental factors, such as Maumee river winter phosphorus loads and Lake Erie winter ice extent and timing, are likely important in modulating bloom severity, particularly in years with moderate phosphorus loads. Finally, we suggest incorporating mechanistic or rule-based models, in addition to empirical models, to better understand and predict annual cyanobacterial bloom severity. The updated models not only improve seasonal forecast accuracy which provides advanced warning of bloom severity to Lake Erie stakeholders, but also helps identify which factors we can better manage to reduce the frequency of severe blooms.
Till I Waltz Again with You (1953)
Authors: Adler Richard , Ross Jerry , Bennett Tony , Page Patti , Brewer Teresa , Thiele Bob , Valli June , James Joni , Acquaviva Anthony (Tony)
Published: May 2024

While the male crooners came back strong with Tony Bennett, Perry Como and even Frankie Laine conquering the record charts, some new female singers had a good year, including June Valli and Joni James.
“Love Wins” and Black Lives Matter
Authors: Carlacio Jami L.
Published: May 2024

This chapter addresses the spiritual underpinnings of the #BlackLivesMatter movement and the non-traditional faith-based activism of its co-founder Patrisse Cullors, political artist and proponent of carceral justice. The acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s slayer George Zimmerman on July 13, 2013 sparked a cascade of outrage and activism on behalf of African Americans’ dignity and lives. With co-founders Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi, Cullors began a campaign for Black justice to proclaim a contested idea: black lives matter. Whether on a plantation, an Arkansas classroom, or a walkway outside an apartment complex in Dade County, Florida, the violence perpetrated on African Americans has failed to quench their insatiable drive for justice and insistence on self-love. Love of self and race, and the deep, abiding belief in the presence of the spirit, has been the guiding force in Cullors’s crusade, who efforts are, in her words, “deeply spiritual . . . healing justice work.”
Prelude
Authors: Karpf Juanita
Published: May 2024

Familiarity with William B. Bradbury’s many talents and accomplishments is essential in order to fully appreciate the reception history of Esther, the Beautiful Queen. Many Protestants are undoubtedly familiar with Bradbury’s name as many of his celebrated hymns are still sung during church services. Yet, during his lifetime he achieved fame quite beyond that of a composer of popular hymns. His rise to prominence began in New York City where he established himself as an innovative music teacher and director of religious music. His early compositions included specialized pieces for the developing voices of children. He travelled throughout the eastern U.S. conducting concerts and promoting his educational philosophy and methods at events known as “musical conventions.” Desiring to expand his knowledge of music pedagogy, he spent two years in Europe and pusued studies at Leipzig Conservatory. Eventually, he added to his fame by establishing a piano manufacturing firm that, for a time, was one of the most successful in the country. A prolific writer, he published informative essays about teaching, and compiled dozens of tunebooks featuring his latest compositions.
Genre Intrigue
Authors: Karpf Juanita
Published: May 2024

Whether a vocal work could or should be classified as sacred or secular mattered to 19-century U.S. audiences. Many devout Protestants voiced strong objections to certain types of so-called “secular music,” especially dance, and songs with lyrics considered bawdy or morally suspect. Certain secular genres, especially opera, were performed in theaters and therefore conservative citizenry generally avoided these venues. Yet, when Esther assumed the identity of a theatrical piece, many of its performances took place in spaces considered off-limits to the religiously conservative. However, these matters were anything but clearcut or definitive. Audiences and critics frequently questioned whether or not Esther’s music was sacred, or secular, and debated if Bradbury’s score upheld the expectations of a sacred or religious work. Even as Bradbury referred to Esther as a sacred cantata or oratorio, newspapers also classified the score as an opera. Much of the American public chafed at the possibility that a vocal piece, with a text drawn from the Bible, should be presented in a secular venue, with the addition of secular theatrical trappings such as dance, costumes and acting.
Esther and Minorities
Authors: Karpf Juanita
Published: May 2024

Minorities, especially Blacks, Chinese Americans and Asian immigrants, also contributed, substantially, to the richness of Esther’s reception history. Through productions of Esther, minorities engaged in successful fundraising initiatives for their own unique cultural, religious and educational institutions, especially those beyond the purview of whites. Minorities also found, in Esther’s text, unique socio-political messages of hope and resilience that helped sustain them amid the dailiness of racial discrimination. With these performances, persons of color also sought to mediate tensions between whites and various diasporic populations. This chapter evaluates the significance of productions of Esther that took place in minority communities. Among the noteworthy minority productions that are discussed, those of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, the Hampton Singers, and Chinese immigrants are considered. Where possible, photographs accompany this discussion.
Epilogue
Authors: Karpf Juanita
Published: May 2024

The Epilogue summarizes the most prominent themes that have emerged from this in-depth study of Esther. Historically, the reception and analysis of Bradbury’s score confirms the significance of the cross-fertilization of sacred and secular realms in the world of music theatre. Of equal importance, this book draws attention to the influence of community music-making in the U.S. and the ways it nurtured local pride and identity. Historian Christopher Small labelled this phenomenon “musicking”—an endeavor in which everyone present, from usher, to audience member, costumer maker, and onstage performer—is an integral participant in a particular Esther production. The Esther craze endured over one hundred years after the work’s publication, and was presented in hundreds of locations to thousands of enthusiastic audience members. Truly, Bradbury’s score meets the criteria of a megahit.
Breaking Ground
Authors: King Stephen A. , Gatchet Roger Davis
Published: May 2024

While much of the public’s attention has been directed at high-profile official representations of civil rights tourism, including the Museum of Mississippi History-Mississippi Civil Rights Museum (MMH-MCRM), an equally important material element of the state’s overall civil rights offerings are grassroots initiatives that emanate from “the people.” Chapter two explores four representative examples of grassroots and vernacular civil rights tourism: the Canton Freedom House Civil Rights Museum, the Mississippi Heritage Consortium, the Fannie Lou Hamer Museum, and the Fannie Lou Hamer Memorial Garden. Taken together, these memory sites exemplify vernacular cultural expressions of the “folk,” from their emphasis on remembering local heroes to their DIY approach to museum curation. The chapter discusses the challenges each sites faces to remain viable despite limited funding, while noting that these vernacular tourism sites engage in truth-telling, offering a rhetorical counterbalance to official retellings of the past and the present.
“This Little Light of Mine”
Authors: King Stephen A. , Gatchet Roger Davis
Published: May 2024

Through a historical account of its genesis and a thematic analysis of its exhibit, chapter six interrogate the memory building practices of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum (MCRM). The museum’s exhibits highlight resistance to white supremacy and uncover the violent truth of the freedom struggle in Mississippi. The MCRM is the state’s most aggressive example of the truth-telling and anti-racist functions associated with civil rights tourism. At the same time, the museum frames the story of the Mississippi Movement in a way that privileges a more narrow narrative of social movement tactics—one that deemphasizes the influence of the Black Power Movement in the state. By subtly minimizing the more revolutionary and radical elements of the Mississippi Movement, the MCRM minimizes the possibility of alienating some (white) visitors, a rhetorical strategy that facilitates the state’s goals of economic development, image management, and social justice through civil rights tourism.
The Fun Begins
Authors: Thomas Paul A.
Published: May 2024

This chapter is dedicated to Adventure Time’s origin story and how the series came to be. This section begins by briefly discussing Pendleton Ward’s experiences at CalArts before providing a history of the initial “Adventure Time” short, produced by Nicktoons. The chapter then focuses on how a full series was ordered by Cartoon Network and how the production of the show’s first season was a tumultuous period in which the series seemed to always be on the verge of cancellation. This is followed by the story of how the show’s writers “calmed the waters” and successfully saw their television make it to the air. Throughout this chapter, key individuals who helped make the series a reality are introduced and their roles in the series’ creation are briefly outlined.
Utter Finndemonium!
Authors: Thomas Paul A.
Published: May 2024

Iinstead of detailing the entirety of the fandom, the author focuses specifically on the common behaviors of the fans within that fandom, as well as the websites that helped the show balloon in popularity. To enliven things even more, the author interviewed dozens of passionate fans who shared their insight into the show’s fervent fan following. The end result was this chapter, which serves as a useful snapshot of the show’s sprawling and diverse fandom.
“Is This Another Terrorist Attack?”
Authors: Hantke Steffen
Published: May 2024

With its scenes of massive urban destruction set in Lower Manhattan, Cloverfield is immediately recognizable as a response to the attacks of 9/11. The film’s unprecedented emphasis on the helpless suffering of innocent bystanders underwrites a politics that has grown increasingly complex over the years. Much of the film’s complex politics revolves around negotiating the balance between a more explicit empathetic pose and a less explicit, though no less potent, pose of retaliatory violence.
Creators, Producers, and Franchisers
Authors: Hantke Steffen
Published: May 2024

Cloverfield’s expansion into a franchise is primarily the work of producer J.J. Abrams. Redefining the balance between abstract symbolic and practical creative functions, Abrams’s rise to stardom brings together various industry trends in authorial self-fashioning and creative marketing captured by the “Mystery Box” metaphor Abrams himself has popularized as a model for creative productivity.
Wading In
Authors: Lemco Amy
Published: May 2024

This chapter examines the petition, its subsequent rejection, and Operation Surf in Biloxi. The Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission (SSC) left a wealth of primary source documentation of the Biloxi wade-ins, most of which reveal that Dr. Gilbert Mason was listed as a potential agitator of civil rights. From SSC records, it is clear the governing bodies and law enforcement were well aware that residents no longer owned the land to the waterfront. The chapter examines the arrest and sentencing of Mason for his demonstration in Biloxi, which eventually got the attention of the press. It explains that the Black community continued planning for future demonstrations and Dr Mason's arrest only convinced other people to join him.
From Ripples to Waves
Authors: Lemco Amy
Published: May 2024

This chapter tackles the impact of wade-ins in Biloxi. It explains how many white-run newspaper reports reflected a racial bias. After the Bloody Sunday incident in Biloxi, the rumor mill churned continuously with allegations of plans for further demonstrations or acts of violent intimidation. In 1960, Governor Ross Barnett signed the Mason bill into law to nip the bud of any more demonstrations, which allowed the sentencing of up to ten years in prison for anyone inciting a riot in which a person was injured. The chapter then explains that the magnitude of the wade-in was felt across the nation. The NAACP began to use the Biloxi demonstrations as the model for events in eleven other states with regard to the movement to desegregate beaches.
Tides Turning
Authors: Lemco Amy
Published: May 2024

This chapter discusses the continuation of the federal case of United States v. Harrison County. It explains that Dr. Gilbert Mason and his peers heard that the federal suit to desegregate schools around military bases was unsuccessful. The final Biloxi wade-in was postponed a week and a half. Moreover, President John F. Kennedy asked for a stop to public demonstrations as the civil rights bill was progressing through Congress, urging votes instead of demonstrations. The chapter cites that, on the final day of the appeal on Dr. Mason's trespassing trial and the passing of the US civil rights bill in the House of Representatives, President Kennedy was shot and killed.
Sand Between My Toes
Authors: Lemco Amy
Published: May 2024

This chapter highlights the legacy and continued work for racial equity of Dr. Gilbert Mason. It explores the work of Dr. Mason for the Black community, which includes helping through the effects of Hurricane Camille and working with public schools. Dr. Mason, sensitive to representation across race, gender, and class, further advocated for women and more minorities to be included on the Coliseum Commission. Thus, multiple memorials to Dr. Gilbert Mason Sr.'s legacy can be found on the Biloxi Gulf Coast. The chapter also acknowledges the efforts and work of Mason's family, including his children who continued with his legacy of working with the marginalized.
Recruitment and Orientation
Authors: Kabat Julie
Published: May 2024

This chapter details the recruitment and orientation for the Mississippi Summer Project. Summer Project leaders realized that students from privileged families could afford to volunteer rather than seek a paying summer job. As such, recruiters targeted students at prestigious colleges and universities, including Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, the latter of which is where Luke first heard about the project. Beyond financial considerations, there was another reason that project leaders wanted to recruit volunteers from prominent families. Unfortunately, they knew that the national news media was much more likely to pay attention to what privileged young whites were up to rather than segregated Black youth in impoverished communities. The chapter looks at Freedom Summer, which was Program Director Bob Moses's brainchild. Moses had been working on the voter-registration drive in Mississippi. However, in segregated Mississippi, white people fiercely resisted the effort to register Blacks. During the orientation, developing Black leadership was an essential goal. Volunteers were also taught essential nonviolent techniques, as well as freedom songs.
Meridian
Authors: Kabat Julie
Published: May 2024

This chapter begins by describing how, throughout the spring of 1964, community centers like the one Mickey Schwerner started in Meridian popped up around the state. Word spread quickly to African American teenagers and children. Among them were the Thompson sisters of Meridian who belonged to a large, tight-knit family of nine children. The chapter looks at their memories of Freedom Summer and being Luke's Freedom School students. It also illustrates the undertone of ordinary life for a child growing up in Mississippi during the Jim Crow era. It was the world Luke would encounter when he came to live with a Black family and teach students at the Freedom School in Meridian.
Close Quarters
Authors: Kabat Julie
Published: May 2024

This chapter focuses on the arrest of the men who murdered Mickey Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney. Based on two confessions of Klan members, on December 4, 1964, federal prosecutors from the US Justice Department arrested the nineteen men identified by the FBI as the murderers, plus two men accused of withholding knowledge of the felony—twenty-one men in all. The men who were residents of Meridian were now being held at the county jail. Luke and Freeman feared that they would be locked in jail with the murderers. However, the US Justice Department could not actually charge the accused with the crime of murder. Murder is rarely a federal crime and only if it occurs on federal property. Otherwise, the crime of murder is covered by state laws. Instead of murder, nineteen men were charged with “conspiring to violate the civil rights of Schwerner, Chaney, and Goodman,” and the remaining two, with “refusing to provide information about the murders.” The accused murderers were eventually freed under bond. With their bail paid, Luke and Freeman were also released from jail.
Bitter Pill
Authors: Kabat Julie
Published: May 2024

This chapter describes how Luke took time to consider his recent, terrifying experience in jail in light of the more idealistic thoughts he had entertained previously. Before, he had treated being confined in a jail cell almost as a breeze. The chapter assesses the preliminary hearing for the nineteen accused murderers; the case against the two accomplices, arrested for withholding information from the FBI, would be handled separately. Esther Carter, the US Commissioner for the Southern District of Mississippi who was hearing the case, promptly dismissed the charges against the men. This provided further proof, if any was needed, that in Mississippi, in Luke's words, “murder is legal.” The chapter also discusses how Luke grappled with the perennial question of using guns versus nonviolence. Luke was aware that he and the other civil rights activists were being protected by Blacks in the community who did have guns and were willing to use them in self-defense. It was a paradox: the threat of violence made nonviolence possible.
Brief Interlude
Authors: Kabat Julie
Published: May 2024

This chapter details the author's Christmas break, which she spent with her boyfriend, Al Schwartz, and his family at their home in Queens. Al's mother, Lena, belonged to a large Sephardic family that had immigrated from Turkey in the early 1900s. His family embraced a more traditional, religious view of Judaism than the author's did. The common thread that linked their families was food; Al's mother served up an endless array of Turkish delicacies. The author then took the train up to Rhode Island and reconnected with her brother, Luke, by phone. He painted a picture of what happened to him in Mississippi.