Discussion Questions for 2/6/09

Discussion Questions
“Teddy Bear Patriarchy” and To Die For

1. What was the reasoning behind the nationalists’ perception of children as such a crucial component in the creation of the American patriotic culture (think about the role of immigrant children in particular)? What were some of the approaches used by social organizations such as the GAR and the WRC that targeted the education system and how did they differ? Has one group’s approach been sustained through the present day more so than the other’s? If so, why?

2. What were some of the main barriers inhibiting reunification in the immediate post-Civil War era? State some of the initial steps that were taken to reduce each side’s reservations about the creation of a national identity. What do you believe the implications were for American society as a whole as a result of the North’s abandonment of dedication to Reconstruction and the “race question” in its attempt to reunify the country?

3. What were some of the events and/or factors that culminated in the racialization of patriotism? How did this racialization affect the national patriotic culture by the end of the First World War? Pay special attention to the concept of “popular imperialism.”

4. What was the relationship between the state and the individual in the ideological battleground of patriotic culture? How did the intricacies of the first pledges of allegiance (written by Balch and Bellamy) help overcome the complexities of the nation-individual relationship? How effective was this in reducing the conflict between those who idealized the nation and the notion of civic duty and those who argued for the protection of an individual’s rights above all else?

5. How did the expansion of mass media across America serve to reformulate the nation’s collective memory of the Civil War? What was the significance of yellow journalism in the broader political context of national identity? How was the practice of “amnesia” and historical rewriting of the Civil War important in the creation of national patriotism?

6. What role did women play in constructing the new nationalistic notion of patriotism? Did their role change between the end of the 19th century and World War I? What were the differences between the roles of black women and white women during this period?

7. What is “Teddy Bear Patriarchy?” What were some of the problems Akeley and his contemporaries saw as a result of civilization and technological progress? What did they believe to be the cure?

8. What statement does Haraway contend the American Museum of Natural History and Akeley’s exhibit make? How does she connect Akeley’s exhibit to broader societal questions? How did Akeley’s engagement in these questions use education and science as a means for promoting his ideals for the construction of the nation?