Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item Structures of cultural memory: the photography of Tom Wright(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2022) Zignego, Jordan Robert; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Dennis AigThe photography of Tom Wright, archived at the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin, is both art and history. Wright captured many musicians on stage and off at some of the most pivotal moments in both their own careers and in the history of rock music. Although Wright played an integral part with various bands, and produced an amazing body of photographical work in a career that spanned from the 1960s to the 1980s, he has remained unknown. This dissertation argues that Wright belongs in the pantheon of rock photographers as a chronicler and artist; that Wright's photography, and the manner in which it was created, represent the turmoil and conflicts of his era (1960s-1980s) on which he had a specific Anglo-American take as a photographer born in America, but educated in England; that the so-called rock 'n roll life is embodied in Wright's life, including the concept of auto-destruction, that is a primary reason for Wright's lack of recognition; and Wright's relative obscurity is due in large part to his own refusal to work for any publications but to take photographs for their own sake. Wright's photography tells a more nuanced story of rock music. By altering the collectively accepted narrative, his photographs provide a sense of awakening for all and touch on shared memories and how society remembers. Wright's work ultimately offers a more inclusive perspective on how photographs affect both memory and accepted history.Item Steady hammer: origins of American counterterrorism in the dime novel world of William J. Flynn(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2020) Roberts, Brent Sidney; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Robert RydellThis dissertation traces the life and times of William J. Flynn (1867-1928) as a means of understanding popular attitudes toward anarchism and terrorism, as well as expectations for protection from these forces, at the dawn of the twentieth century. Flynn was constantly at the nexus of law enforcement, serving as jailkeeper in the New York County correctional system; as agent, regional director, and national director of the U.S. Secret Service; and as director of the Bureau of Investigation. He also led a creative literary life, penning memoirs of his cases as novels and newspaper serials, and writing stories and editing a detective fiction magazine after his retirement from government service. Drawing on theories of popular culture of Russel Nye, as well as concepts of power and discourse of Michel Foucault, this study examined Flynn's literary works, historical documents from the Secret Service, Bureau of Investigation, and U.S. Railroad Administration, and popular dime novels to capture public perception of anarchists and expectations for protection from the terrorist threat. Anarchists were portrayed generally as unclean and often of foreign origin, while counter-anarchists appeared as capable, sharp-witted, affluent men and women. Temporality forms an important aspect of the study, demonstrating that Flynn's counterterrorist approach, as well as expectations for protection from terrorist violence, were rooted in elements of time. In a period when most detective work was financed by private individuals, Flynn built an identity for himself as a competent public official, and more importantly through his work and writings established the federal government as the primary entity capable of meeting the demands of protecting American citizens in the early twentieth century. Following retirement, Flynn continued his literary endeavors, always blurring the line between fact and fiction, generally cloaking his own adventures, all worthy of dime novels themselves, with a veneer of fiction.