History Senior Integrated Projects
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This collection includes Senior Integrated Projects (SIP's, formerly known as Senior Individualized Projects) completed in the History Department. Abstracts are generally available to the public, but PDF files are available only to current Kalamazoo College students, faculty, and staff.
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Item Witches vs. Women: A study of the Church’s perception of women in the Middle Ages.(2023-11-05) English, Sara M.; Rojas, Rochelle E.This essay dissects Question VI of Part I in the Malleus Maleficarum. First, it gives an overview of historical context about the years surrounding the publication of the book. It informs readers of the religious beliefs commonly held at the time that affected the writing of the Malleus Maleficarum, then it gives a short historiography about other works written about the Malleus Maleficarum, witchcraft, and religion. Next, this paper explains how someone became a witch and what exactly a witch was according to Heinrich Kramer and the people of the fifteenth century. The core of this essay focuses on the connection between the Bible and the three main claims about women made in the Malleus Maleficarum: the idea of the lack of intelligence of women, then shifts to women’s skill in the art of deception, and the idea of the insatiable carnal lust of women. This essay argues that sexism in witchcraft originated and later was justified by Christianity. Sexism was promoted through works such the Malleus Maleficarum and defended with religious teachings about women. It shows how Henrich Kramer used the Bible to support his claims and therefore make them valid in the eyes of his community. And that this use of religion in defense of his claims gave little room for readers to criticize his theory because they too could be accused of witchcraft or heresy if they did not submit to the Christian viewpoint.Item Mathematical Understandings and Applications of Aztec and Incan Populations in Pre-Columbian Latin America(2023-07-07) Eguia, Jairo; Rojas, Rochelle E.In the year 1492, Christopher Columbus and other Europeans claimed that a “New World” had been discovered along with its vast riches in material wealth. However, they either downplayed, ignored, stole, or destroyed all the discoveries and advancements made by the native populations, one of the most fascinating being its use of mathematics. Societies today cannot function without mathematics, it is a part of every economic transaction, organizes armies, is encoded in our languages, and has infinite other roles that make up modern communities. While many advancements have been made from the late fifteenth century, the role of mathematics has not shifted, and the native american populations utilized the philosophical organization of numbers to fuel their empires. The Aztec and Inca, in particular, both showcased outstanding accomplishments driven by their vast geographic size and large populations. They achieved levels of organization that surpassed many of their European counterparts. Through their efforts, the Euro-centric narratives of sophistication and superiority among the West can be proven false, instead displaying the strengths of indigenous populations rather than their shortcomings. The goal of this project is not to completely grasp the intricacies or meaning of the remnants of mathematical concepts that survived the test of time against colonialism. Achieving this would be impossible, considering the destructive efforts by Europeans. Instead, the aim is to understand their purpose and importance. Religious practices, understanding of time, astrology, architecture, taxes, economy, labor systems, agriculture, and even the everyday lives of the Aztec and Inca populations were embedded in mathematical understandings. Through this analysis, one will not only see that the role mathematics has played in society within these respective empires is no different than the role mathematics plays in the 21st century, but also part of the lasting legacy that survives today.Item Mockery, Fear, and Power : Kalamazoo College and Blackface Minstrelsy in the Mid-Twentieth Century(2024-03-01) Lemus, Alejandra D.; Boyer Lewis, Charlene M., 1965-Just seventy years ago, the Kalamazoo College community unapologetically embraced blackface minstrelsy as a form of entertainment for the student body. Beginning in the spring of 1949, the Century Forum Literary Society, a well-known and reputable student organization on campus, began its annual performance of the "rhythm rockin' Darktown Jamboree." This was an alleged "laugh-packed fabulous show" open to all students and faculty, as well as residents of the greater city of Kalamazoo. These performances did not go against the grain of student interest; on the contrary, they were widely popular among the campus community and continued yearly "in response to the tremendous and enthusiastic interest of the student body." The reality of Kalamazoo College's own use of blackface minstrelsy may be jarring or perhaps unexpected to those who live, work, or study on the campus today. Particularly when juxtaposed with the college's present-day mission of providing students with "enlightened leadership to a richly diverse and increasingly complex world," and a commitment to "intercultural understanding,"3 the reality of the institution's history with blackface minstrelsy feels like a laughable contradiction that dilutes more recent claims of the college's dedication to social and racial justice. How can we explain and understand this part of Kalamazoo College's past and come to terms with these students' unabashed perpetuation of a racist tradition? How might it inform the community's future?Item Centering Restoration and Restoring Center : How Restoring the Central Surveillance Hub of Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site Inc. Would Benefit Visitor's Interpretation.(2024-03-01) Harris, Nora; Boyer Lewis, Charlene M., 1965-In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Eastern State Penitentiary was once the world's most famous and expensive prison. Constructed on a radial plan in the 1820s and 30s by architect John Haviland, Eastern State Penitentiary promoted the Quaker penitentiary system, which utilized solitary confinement to inspire penitence in incarcerated people. 3 After abandonment in 1971, the building stands today in ruin, a world of crumbling cellblocks and empty guard towers. Its vaulted, sky-lit cells held nearly 85,000 people over its long history. As a historic site, Eastern State Penitentiary is crucial for its unique ability to use space and material culture objects to educate visitors about contemporary issues of mass incarceration through a historical lens, which encourages entrance into an ongoing conversation about criminal justice reform. This thesis aims to inform future conversations about interpreting and preserving all floors of Eastern State Penitentiary's Center Surveillance Hub. It proposes a restoration philosophy and considers its impact on the visitor experience at the site. While interned at Eastern State in the fall of 2022, I spent time researching Center to create a comprehensive database consisting of a short narrative of the space's history, a timeline, and a conditions assessment report. This thesis will be added to the database to further contribute to the ongoing curatorial discussion about Center.Item Divided Lanes : a Social History of Swimming Pools in Two Midwestern Cities(2024-03-01) Kipfmueller, Rylie; Lewis, James E., 1964-The Midwest is the focus of my study in part for the self-perception held by many in the region: that this has always been a place of tolerance, acceptance, and civil equality. In reality, this is not the case, and states such as Michigan and Minnesota have hid behind this construction as a way to excuse systemic racism. I argue that, although not all black Americans in the Midwest experienced segregation in the same way as black Southerners, they were impacted and restricted in their activities. This was not always a matter of lawful segregation as in the Jim Crow South. Rather, de facto segregation, or segregation that occurred simply because it followed the conventions which were a part of societal norms, formed a larger basis for segregation in the cities for which I am completing case studies. A multi-pronged approach will reveal de facto segregation in these cities. Redlining, housing covenants, and racial makeup of different neighborhoods in each city were connected to segregated pools. In addition, I will look at when, where, and the number of public pools that were built in each city. I will consider public pools along with private, semi-private, and natural bodies of water to holistically understand options that Saint Paulites and Kalamazooans had when they wished to go swimming in their respective cities. I will also consider how easy it was to get to a non-neighborhood pool using public transportation in the instances where a neighborhood did not have a community pool. Additionally, I will examine instances of outright racial discrimination at pools in both Saint Paul and Kalamazoo, where residents were unable to enter a pool or swimming area specifically because of their race. After examining de facto segregation and discrimination in these places, I will consider what pools meant to the broader Civil Rights Movement, and the role pools played in relation to other recreational and leisure activities.