2016

From the rise of the Religious Right to the fall of the Berlin Wall, from the Iran-Contra Affair and Challenger Space Shuttle accident to the launch of MTV, from the plague of AIDS and the crack epidemic to the fierce debates around the sex-porn wars and the “welfare queen,” events, individuals, and policies of the 1980s radically redefined understandings of sexuality and gender in the United States. The students of American Conflicts & Cultures: The 1980s at Trinity College learn to interpret and contextualize cultural objects by connecting the intimate and global topographies of these events and identifying the ways that they still affect our daily lives. As a project of public humanities, students edited entries in Wikipedia related to their work to add further citations, data, and information regarding their research topics as a project of public humanities, to create knowledge for and with the public. Read the 2016 class’s work below! The research that students do does not end on the page but serves to extend knowledge to the world while showing students their own agency and role in the production of knowledge. Enjoy!

• Isabella Alexandre ’20
  • the parallels between the choking deaths of Radio Raheem and Eric Garner by police
• Brian Booth ’19
• Rachel Brigham ’19
  • The New York Times review of Spies Like Us
• Alex Dahlem ’20
  • President Ronald Reagan’s use of the “welfare queen” in 1976 and 1980 speeches
• Emma Durgin ’19
  • the affect of Nan Goldin’s sister’s suicide on her work
• Jenna Gershman ’20
  • the role of female friendship in Steel Magnolias
• Victoria Harvey ’18
  • the role of funding in the Institute for Contemporary Art’s 1989 Mapplethorpe show
• Talia La Schiazza ’19
  • how policies against people with HIV/AIDS influenced Gran Fury’s art
• Emma Martinez Daniel ’19
  • artist Nicholas Nixon’s artistic focus and funding sources
• Ian Moritz ’19
  • the plot of Aliens
• Amanda Muccio ’18
  • the photography of Deborah Bright as an influence on lesbian feminism
• Sam Porter ’19
  • The New York Times review of the Dead Poets Society play
• Nick Rose ’19
  • the role of visual artists in ACT UP
• Eric Sachse ’20
  • the effects of photos of animals covered in oil in increasing public outrage to the Exxon Valdez spill
• Chandler Solimine ’19
  • artist David Wojnarowicz’s writings and books
• Natalie Tanaka ’20
  • Nan Goldin’s childhood experiences and how they influenced her rebellion
• Katrina Trentos ’20
  • Keith Haring’s teenage years
• Janie Weber ’19
  • Jay Bakker’s trajectory, son of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker
• Charlie Zuccarini ’19
  • the plot of 48 Hrs.