Abstract This paper discusses how no two artists have captured the essence of the Native American Indians as inspiringly as George Catlin and Edward S. Curtis. It shows that while most of the world considered the Native Americans as savages and godless people, Catlin and Curtis have managed to bring the truth home in incredibly detailed pictorial journals. It describes how the vivid colors of Catlin's work is a sharp contrast to the black and white photography of Curtis. Catlin's style and his use of colors enhance the fantasy world in which he viewed the Native Americans living in whereas Curtis, used his camera to capture the realism of the Native people and their lifestyle.
From the Paper "There is hardly a book published on Native Americans that does not contain a Curtis photograph. While Catlin's landscapes had a whimsical quality to them, Curtis? photographs capture the wholeness and wonder of the land. He had a remarkable eye for composition. "Canon de Chelly, Navajo" shows the majestic rock formations towering above the horseback riders below. It is a perfect example of how minute humans are in comparison to the earth (McLuhan 1971). "Piegan Sun Dance Encampment" a photograph of a camp of teepees on the prairie, again captures the majesty of the land."
Abstract This paper explores the parallels that can be drawn between various aspects of the film "Coming to Light" and the work of photographer Edward S. Curtis, the subject of the film. By exploring these parallels, the paper then highlights what is both positive and negative about the film.
From the Paper "The 84-minute long film depicts the life of Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952), who took it upon himself to preserve traditional American Indian cultures by means of photographic art. It was during 1900 when he attended a Piegan Sundance, that the photographer was so moved that he made the preservation of the cultures of the various tribes of North American Indians his life's work. As he believed that the Sundance was to be the last the he would see, he was inspired to use photography to preserve what he could of the beauty of the culture. Thus, with around 10,000 recordings, 40,000 photographs and one full length ethnographic film about his subjects, Curtis became the most famous of his time. However, with the Great Depression in the 1930's people's interest in Indian culture wavered and Curtis eventually died in poverty, nearly forgotten. His work did however survive and was rediscovered during the 1970's. It is from this material, and the help of both Native Americans and Curtis's family members, that Anne Makepeace was able to create her remarkable film."
Abstract This term paper is an overview of the photographic work of Edward S. Curtis, the famous (and infamous) photographer of early 20th Century Native Americans. His photographs today are extremely sought after and widely recognized, yet also despised by many as dishonest depictions rather than an accurate visual historical record. While written from the perspective of visual anthropology, this paper discusses the long history of his work, his controversial methods, and its widely varied public reception.
From the Paper "Throughout the 20th century Edward Sheriff Curtis and The North American Indian have been both adored and abhorred within various contexts for diverse reasons. While almost all who are interested in Native American culture are familiar with his 30-year photo-documentary project recording all "vanishing" tribes west of the Mississippi River, their acknowledgement does not necessitate acceptance of the scientific or academic accuracy nor the ideological terms of production. While ubiquitous within museums, galleries, textbooks, and the media, his photographs have, since inception, maintained a contested ambivalence between art and science. Much of the controversy and the ebb and flow of popularity has been historically determined to an extent by social, cultural, and economic conditions. Curtis? project began just as Anthropology as a profession was coming of age in the United States, desperate to distinguish itself as a scientific discipline. Simultaneously, photography had become more technologically sophisticated as well as accessible, and began to consciously figure itself both as art and science."
Abstract The "American" public has always had an interest in the lives of Native Americans. During the early 1800, this curiosity blossomed in a fascination. The paper shows that unfortunately, most Americans were content to relegate all Native Americans into this caricature of the "noble savage", dehumanizing them, and few settlers sought to understand the culture of the Natives whose land they were occupying. Fortunately two nineteenth century artists, Edward Sheriff Curtis and George Catlin did not share the same view. This paper discusses how these men dedicated their lives to the study and preservation of Native American tribal culture for posterity by creating imagery based on the Native American people. Although their methodology, content, and style were dissimilar, (Curtis used the camera and Catlin worked with oil paint), their goal was the same, to capture and record the essence of America's indigenous people through art.
From the Paper "Countless numbers around the globe have benefited from the information gathered during the 1800's by Edward S. Curtis and George Catlin.
Without these records many of the customs and heritage that we know of as "Native American" might be lost today.
It is easy to be critical of Catlin's paintings when judging it against the realism of Curtis? photographs, but the goals of the two men were the same. The sincerity, accuracy, and honesty of the collections that were compiled by the ethnographists transcend their work from the category of mere art to the palate of life."
Abstract This paper extensively explores neoconservatism and Islamism, two dominant and warring ideologies of present times, through an analysis of Adam Curtis' documentary, "The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear". The paper explains that the film deals with the phenomenon of politicians exploiting fear about terrorism to solidify and consolidate their power as well as provides a historical overview of the ascendance of the Neoconservative movement and Islamism as a political ideology. The paper further relates that the film advances the view that these two intellectual strains have much in common because they grew out of the same stimuli and view the world in a similar way: Both ideologies were the products of the perceived failure of past idealism (defined as western liberalism). The paper then summarizes Curtis' documentary and analyzes the philosophical currents of the film. In particular, the paper analyzes those thematic elements that relate to subjects in political theory: the concept of freedom and the power of fear.
From the Paper "The religious language and themes used when framing grand existential struggles, be they against the Soviet Union or Islamic radicalism, are no coincidence. From his earliest days, Strauss invoked the dual forces of religion and state in the construction of
noble lies of external threat to provide internal validation. The courting of religious organizations and individuals by the right was conscious, systematic, and by design- strongly encouraged by their neoconservative wing."
Abstract This paper analyses four texts in terms of language form and structure and the way the writers use the genre of their choice to express their thoughts and feelings.The four pieces are "The Hero" by Siegfried Sassoon, "Goodbye to All That" by Robert Graves, "Journey's End" by R.C.Sherriff and "Black Adder" by Ben Elton and Richard Curtis. It looks at how the texts are typical of World War One literature and the influence of the time of composition and the significance of the gender of the writers.
From the Paper "More than in any other previous conflict, the Great War inspired writers of all generations and classes to write about their experiences in a way that was totally new to previous war literature. The new manner in which the First World War was conducted dramatically changed the way war was viewed, which is naturally reflected in the literature written. Before 1914 wars were largely fought abroad, which therefore meant that people wrote about war with a somewhat detached view as they were completely removed from the immediate situation. At this time war was considered, by most, to be a cleansing, almost health giving experience and the literature written, for example Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade", celebrated Victorian values of devotion to duty, patriotic loyalty and sacrifice."
A discussion to the extent to which the BBC's "Blackadder Comes Forth" and Pat Barker's "The Ghost Road" are typical of texts written about the First World War.
1,194 words (approx. 4.8 pages), 0 sources, 2004, $ 40.95
Abstract This paper considers a wide range of texts written about the First World War, focusing on "Blackadder Comes Forth" written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton and Pat Barker's "The Ghost Road". It analyses the texts in terms of language form and structure and the way the writers use the genre of their choice to express their thoughts and feelings. The influence of the time of composition and the significance of the gender of the writers is also discussed.
From the Paper "More than in any other previous conflict, the Great War inspired writers of all generations and classes to write about their experiences in a way that was totally new to previous war literature. The new manner in which the First World War was conducted dramatically changed the way war was viewed, which is naturally reflected in the literature written. Before 1914 wars were largely fought abroad, which therefore meant that people wrote about war with a somewhat detached view as they were completely removed from the immediate situation. At this time war was considered, by most, to be a cleansing, almost health giving experience and the literature written, for example Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade", celebrated Victorian values of devotion to duty, patriotic loyalty and sacrifice."
Abstract This paper summarizes and discusses James Curtis's book "Andrew Jackson and the Search for Vindication". The paper describes, according to the the book, the circumstances surrounding the various times in Andrew Jackson's life that he felt the need to search for vindication. The paper concludes that only time brought vindication for Jackson.
From the Paper "Jackson was to have more vindications of a military kind when his forces killed 186 Creek Indians on November 2, 1813, and on November 8, 1813 three hundred Creek Indians in Tennessee. Those battles were won even though Jackson was asked to wait for reinforcements and did not wait as ordered. And when soldiers were without adequate food and supplies, and threatened to walk away from battle, and Jackson himself was "a sick man" (p. 53), he stubbornly insisted on continuing, and threatened to shoot any men who deserted. "To Jackson the war was not a matter of contracts, terms of service, or dates of discharge, but a campaign to vindicate national honor and to prove his personal worth by triumphing over the enemy's wickedness" (p. 53). In 1813, when the British invaded New Orleans (War of 1812), Jackson's forces beat them and he became a hero, once again vindicating him. He was vindicated for the time he was taken prisoner by the British as a young boy, and made to shine British soldier's shoes, and almost had his head chopped off; and for his heroism in the face of a massive British charge in New Orleans. "Glorious," "unparalleled," "incredible" were some of the accolades he received nationwide for his hand in defeated the hated British."
This paper studies "The Knight's Tale and Trecento Italian Historiography" by James H. McGregor and "Desire, Violence and the Passion in Fragment VII of the Canterbury Tales: A Girardian Reading," by Curtis Gruenler.
Abstract In this article, the writer introduces, discusses and analyzes two essays on "The Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer. Specifically, the writer summarizes and compares the two essays "The Knight's Tale and Trecento Italian Historiography" by James H. McGregor and "Desire, Violence and the Passion in Fragment VII of the Canterbury Tales: A Girardian Reading," by Curtis Gruenler. The writer notes that these two essays discuss different aspects of Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales," from what inspired "The Knight's Tale" to his use of violence and history in the work, and what that means for readers. The writer concludes that these essays open up new worlds and ways to explore "The Canterbury Tales," and they make the epic poem more interesting and compelling to the reader.
From the Paper "Both of these essays bring up aspects of "The Canterbury Tales" that casual readers might not recognize or understand. They show how the history of the day influenced Chaucer, and how he used other, older works as inspiration for his own tales. They show how events at the time also inspired Chaucer, and that he was writing largely against violence in most of the tales, and that shows in many of them, including the "Knight's Tale." Each of the tales is humorous or satirical in some way, and one essay discusses new fragments of the manuscript that contained differences in the accepted version of some of the stories. All of this information helps enlighten the reader and gives them another layer of understanding the work, and it makes reading it more enjoyable, too, because there is background and foundation for some of the tales and their meaning."
A comparison of three literary works that relate to criminal and sexual deviancy in Victorian London by L. Perry Curtis, Seth Koven and Judith R. Walkowitz.
Abstract This paper discusses criminal and sexual deviancy in Victorian London during the nineteenth century. It examines three literary works and compares the views that they present of the streets of London. The paper discusses L. Perry Curtis's "Jack the Ripper and the London Press," Seth Koven's "Slumming: Sexual and Social Politics in Victorian London" and Judith R. Walkowitz's "City of Dreadful Delight."
Table of Contents:
Introduction
The Sources
Crime:The Hereditary Criminal Class
From the Paper "Where Curtis provides a cultural interpretation of "real" criminality, Walkowitz addresses the issue through contemporary sociology. Her primary source in this area is Charles Booth, a statistician and critic of the "urban savagery" pervasive in late Victorian crime dockets. Booth's 1886 study demonstrated that contrary to popular perception, so-called hereditary criminals only constituted roughly 1 percent of the London population, and that the bourgeoisie provided a substantial share of urban crime. Walkowitz and Curtis are in agreement in terms of deconstructing the urban savage, but their methods demonstrate how competing disciplines may compliment one another."
Abstract This essay explores two ways prevalent in the 20th century of preservation of the Native American culture: imperialist nostalgia and salvage ethnography, both of which are a reconstruction of the Native American culture from a Western viewpoint. The essay concludes that while the preservation accomplished was not faithful to the culture it strove to conserve, it did succeed in providing a vehicle for its remembrance, leading to the Native Americans' preservation of their own culture.
From the Paper "The dust kicked up in the frenzy of Western expansion and manifest destiny has settled and is finally beginning to clear. Now, in light of a new civilized nation, questions are being raised as to just what was stamped out in the process. This is not the first time these questions have been raised; in fact, such concerns existed even while the damage was being done. They were answered by voices overwhelmed with guilt and thus resulted in the salvage collecting and imperialist nostalgia whose births followed queue to that of our nation."
This paper introduces and discusses the Pitts S-2B aircraft, and the history of the company that manufactures this aircraft, along with the inventor, Curtis H. Pitts.
Abstract The following paper examines how the Pitts planes revolutionized aerobatic performance and competition. The writer discusses how flying in the 60's was redefined with the introduction of the S1-S Pitts Special, a small, powerful and agile biplane that dominated the sport during the period. This paper argues that the tiny Pitts was a marked contrast to the large Yak-52 monoplane used by the USSR and other eastern block countries.
From the Paper "Pitts Specials, in all their varieties, are eager to please. And they respond well to a loving touch. They become transparent and take on the personality of the pilot, making him, or her, the composer. The Pitts lets them write the melody as they alone hear it" (Davisson).
While it is still a very popular training and show aircraft, the Pitts S-2B is no longer in production, is has been superceded by the Pitts S-2C. Replacement parts can still be purchased from Aviat Aircraft of Afton, Wyoming. ?To many pilots, their Pitts Special becomes more than an airplane. It becomes a living, breathing entity that completes them both as people and as pilots. Maybe that's the real gift of Curtis Pitts. It's not so much the victories, as what he has added to so many lives. Few people make that kind of contribution to the world. But then, few people have designed the likes of a Pitts Special.?
Abstract The paper discusses Pitts Special planes which are used specifically in aerobatic competitions and have been in operation since 1943 when Curtis Pitts designed his first special plane. The paper examines the features and purpose of Pitts S-2B which is one of the modern versions of the original Pitts Special aircraft.
From the Paper "The range of Pitts Special then grew steadily and some other models were made available which were all used for aerobatic competitions and thus quickly gained popularity in the industry for their unique features and designs. Not only were these planes stronger than many other counterparts, their designs were also developed keeping in mind their purpose. This colorful range therefore attracted media and public attention when they participated in national air-shows and exhibitions. But it is important to know that Pitts Special range became more popular during the 1960s era when Curtis Pitts developed some constructions sets and sold them to amateurs for a price of $125 per set."
Abstract This paper discusses George Washington's childhood, his first jobs, and his involvement in the armed forces. The paper explains how he was unanimously voted into office, and his actions during his presidency. The writer explains why he is considered the greatest American of all time, and why he deserves the name "Father of Our Country".
From the Paper "The first US President, George Washington, was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, February 22, 1732. His father, a rich and wealthy plantation owner and iron factory owner, died when Washington was only 11, which is when he moved in with his half-brother Lawrence. His brother owned a plantation at Mount Vernon, and was one of the first people to come up with the idea of crop rotation(a way of planting crops that deals with changing your crops from cattle to grain every other season), and became wealthy and successful with that idea. He also invented a type of fertilizer that he used on some of his potato plants which also proved ingenious. Another interesting fact about his farming techniques, was that he had a greenhouse on the edge of his home at Mount Vernon and was probably the first greenhouse ever, and the only one at that time."
Tags: america, chief, commander, constitutional, convention, curtis, delaware, forge, martha, revolution, trenton, valley, vernon
From the Paper "The average "studio" film today costs tens of millions of dollars, while the average "independent" film exists in a range below $10 million. Such expenditures under both headings have little to do with the genre of film being made, the length of the film, or even the stars of the film in many cases. Many stars will work for less money in an independent film than they will for a studio-made film--Bruce Willis appears in the $7 million Pulp Fiction, for instance, while he is usually paid more than that personally for studio-made films like the two Die Hard sequels. The quality of the film produced also bears only some relationship to the amount of money spent--the aforementioned Pulp Fiction was well-received by critics and audiences alike, while a film costing $70 or $80 million such as Daylight was denigrated by critics and ignored by audiences. What is.."
