Journal of Undergraduate Research at The College of Saint Rose, Vol. III

Journal of Undergraduate Research at the College of Saint Rose Volume III Spring 2012 Contents Editor‘s Introduction Ryane McAuliffe Straus………………………...2 Editorial Board……………………………………………………..…..3 Women as Wives in 21st Century Bollywood Films Cathleen Green...4 Introduced by Vaneeta Palecanda Pope Clement VII, Michelangelo and the Authorship of the New Sacristy Monica Hastedt……………………….…………....13 Introduced by Theresa Flanigan Texans in Comancheria: Imperial Rivalry on the Southern Plains, 1836-1848 Elana Krischer………………………...………..29 Introduced by Bridgett Williams-Searle School Work: Alienated Labor in Marx's ―Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844‖ Applied to Public Education Meagan Lasky…………………………….…..……..51 Introduced by Angela Ledford A Critical Evaluation of Marxian Labor Theory of Value Keith Cronin………………………………………..……….72 Introduced by Angela Ledford Anxiety in Upper and Lower-Level Foreign Language Classrooms: The Impacts of Anxiety and Implications for Second Language Acquisition Amy DeAngelo…………………...….88 Introduced by Erin Mitchell Why Do Some Older Adults Show a Lack of Interest in Health Promotion Programs: The Case of the Albany Neighborhood Naturally Occurring Retirement Community Simone Westerman……………………...…....116 Introduced by Nancy Dorr Determination of Lead in Canada Goose Meat Elizabeth Mullin……...……………………………...……..135 Introduced by Sara Alvaro Using the Kinect as a Computer Interface Control Peter Bailie….…144 Introduced by David Goldschmidt Call for Papers: Journal of Undergraduate Research Volume IV….159

Editor‟s Introduction Ryane McAuliffe Straus Department of History and Political Science It is my great pleasure to introduce this year‘s body of excellent undergraduate research, printed here in the third volume of the Journal of Undergraduate Research. Now in its third year, this Journal is becoming an established part of a campus culture supporting and encouraging undergraduate research.

I am proud to be part of a campus community that is placing greater resources and emphasis on undergraduate research. Research is an integral part of a liberal arts education, and the chance to publish their work provides our students with a pre-professional training opportunity. It also shows the broader community a slice of our talented students and dedicated faculty.

This year‘s call for papers garnered 24 submissions, the most we have ever had. Of these 24, nine were offered provisional acceptance. All authors engaged in substantive revisions of their papers over winter break, and additional revisions in the first month of the spring semester.

This edition of the Journal offers a few unique pieces. The first article, ―Women as Wives in 21st Century Bollywood Films,‖ was written by a biology major for an English course, and represents the first time a paper is published from outside a student‘s major discipline.

The research for one article, ―Why Do Some Older Adults Show a Lack of Interest in Health Promotion Programs?,‖ was funded by the Summer Research Grant competition. Another, ―Determination of Lead in Canada Goose Meat,‖ is based on work conducted through an internship. And of course, all nine papers represent rigorous research, high standards, and robust commitment. Each article offers a contribution to academic literature and debate, and each is introduced by a faculty member familiar with the work.

A project of this size represents significant dedication by many people. Faculty members reviewed and commented on articles, and several people did this for multiple submissions. President Sullivan and Provost Szczerbacki provided leadership and resources. Finally, our student authors spent their winter breaks revising their work, showing their dedication to academic inquiry. They represent the ideal liberal arts student, and each is to be commended.

Editorial Board Editor Ryane McAuliffe Straus, Department of History and Political Science School of Arts and Humanities Michael Brannigan, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies Cailin Brown, Department of Communications May Chan, Department of English Eurie Dahn, Department of English Jenise DePinto, Department of History and Political Science Theresa Flanigan, Center for Art and Design Dennis Johnston, Department of Music Kate Laity, Department of English Angela Ledford, Department of History and Political Science Jeffrey Marlett, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies Karen McGrath, Department of Communications Silvia Mejia, Department of Foreign Languages/American Studies Kim Middleton, Department of English Erin Mitchell, Department of Foreign Languages Marda Mustapha, Department of History and Political Science Dan Nester, Department of English David Rice, Department of English Rone Shavers, Department of English Bridgett Williams-Searle, Department of History and Political Science School of Math and Science Amina Eladdadi, Department of Mathematics Rob Flint, Department of Psychology David Goldschmidt, Department of Computer Science David Hopkins, Department of Biology Ian MacDonald, Department of Computer Science Richard Pulice, Department of Social Work Ann Zak, Department of Psychology Ann Zeeh, Department of Biology School of Education Deborah Kelsh, Department of Teacher Education Christina Pfister, Department of Teacher Education Elizabeth Yanoff, Department of Teacher Education School of Business Janet Spitz, Department of Business Administration

Cathleen Green

Introduction to “Women as Wives in 21st Century Bollywood Films” Vaneeta Palecanda Associate Professor of English Bollywood cinema has explored issues of class and caste, gender and sexuality, family and tradition, religion and national identity in colonial/independent/global India for over hundred years. In the wake of market liberalization, 21st century, popular cinema is engaged continuously in branding India and Indians as upwardly mobile, entrepreneurial, progressive—in short, as ―Modern‖!

However, in this liberal arts course, we studied a wide variety of cinema: films that portrayed the city and the village; films that addressed contemporary, mass culture; films that explored social realism; and films which target the Indian diaspora. Based on such explorations, the class addressed one aspect--a theme, a convention, or genre--of Bollywood cinema in a short paper for their final assignment.

In ―Women as Wives in 21st Century Bollywood Films,‖ Cathleen Green writes about complex socio-cultural relations which inform an otherwise essentialized notion of ―the Indian wife.‖ Green‘s reading makes us think through conflations of modernity with independence, of tradition/rurality with oppression. Drawing upon three significantly different films, Om Shanti Om (a spoof of Bollywood thematic and cinematic conventions), Omkara (an adaptation of Othello) and Dor (an independent film), she examines domestic relations between cine husbands and wives. She looks at how cine men and women mediate conventions of love and marriage. As Green examines rituals that idealize wives and husbands, she records subversions that change conventional practices, even when or if they maintain traditions. Green‘s reading not only recognizes the complexity of gender relations and social practices, but also acknowledges subjective autonomies with regard to place and space.

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Women as Wives in 21st Century Bollywood Films Cathleen Green Biology Major; Class of 2013 The portrayal of Indian women on-screen is often a tragic depiction of their passive roles to their husbands. Such cinematic rendering stems from ancient Hindu beliefs of what the ideal wife should be. Three Bollywood films are analyzed in depth to reveal the roles of Hindu wives from different time periods and geographic locations. These wives range from women who are completely defined by their husbands to more progressive women who seek to define themselves.

It is no longer a secret: movies from Bollywood are sweeping the world. The film industry in Bombay is producing thousands of movies a year and grabbing international attention. One glaring appeal to these movies is their elaborate song-and-dance sequences, which show the dazzling and colorful side of Indian women. However, when one analyzes these films beyond the spectacle, a tragic aspect of women is also being revealed. Love stories, often an integral part of commercial Bollywood films, perpetuate false stereotypes about Indian women. Through cinematography, wardrobe, and even music, these women are depicted as innocent and passive housewives who take the back seat to their husbands. These on-screen relationships are used to portray how ideal Hindu wives should act, and often set the standard expectations for Indian women to live up to. The first film explored is Om Shanti Om (Farah Khan, 2007), which sets up the framework for how women, even famous ones, were expected to act in the 1970s. The analysis continues with Omkara (Vishal Bhardwaj, 2006), which demonstrates the role of rural women in the 2000s. Finally, the film Dor (Nagesh Kukunoor, 2006) will be examined to show how women can defy the constraints of gender expectations.

The ideal Hindu woman is expected by society to have several characteristics, which are typically portrayed in Bollywood films. The list includes being passive, victimized, sacrificial, submissive, and static. Anyone searching Bollywood films for an Indian woman who represents herself, speaks her own voice, and has her own identity would be hard-pressed (Virdi 60). Movie roles depicting strong women are doubly weakened by ―a nationalist patriarchy and a sexist film industry‖. The film industry is so male-dominated that women seldom College of Saint Rose

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are directors, producers, or screen writers. Therefore, males direct the female actresses based on their own fantasies and patriarchal values (Virdi 61). However, it is important to address why women have been fashioned in this manner. The answer lies within the tumultuous history of the nation. After its freedom from British colonial rule in 1947, a conglomeration of dominant Victorian and upper-caste Brahminical values produced the traditional Indian woman (Virdi 63).

Now separate from England, women were depicted as coy and constrained, a viewpoint that was popular during the first two decades of independent India. This view is opposite from western values, which featured overexposed women‘s bodies, promiscuity, and alcohol (Virdi 64). Indian women were portrayed with purity and sexual restraint. The idea of the woman as a mother figure emerged, acting as a theme to unify a frayed country and promote nationalism (Virdi 66). Later, further differences among religion in India, eventually leading to the Partition, generated different ideals for women (Virdi 67). Ancient and historical texts from Hindu and Muslim cultures were used to govern how women should act (Virdi 68). Despite these religious differences, Indian cinema again tried to use the Indian woman as a symbol to represent the wishful desire for a unified nation (Virdi 86). However, using the woman as a stand-in for the nation ―continues to promote egregious gender injustice‖ and sacrifices women‘s interests for the good of the whole (Virdi 72). Although some modern Bollywood films may project a different reality, they often represent this traditional woman.

Om Shanti Om features the character Shanti, a beautiful movie star in Mumbai during the 1970s. The film focuses on her life as a famous movie star, and it uses objectification to showcase her stunning features. Shanti is the attractive female lead in all the newest films and India is infatuated with her. Om, played by the famous Shah Rukh Khan, is a struggling junior artist who is absolutely in love with Shanti.

A beginning scene at the Filmfare Awards, a ceremony to honor professionals of Hindi film, uses an extreme close up to show the overwhelming emotion on Om‘s face when his bracelet accidentally catches onto Shanti‘s scarf; he is hooked on her, literally and figuratively. From this moment on, Om is willing to do anything to win over the heart of beautiful Shanti. For example, during a shoot for her next film, Shanti must be rescued by her male counterpart from a burning fire. However, when the male lead and everyone else on the set fail to complete the task of pulling Shanti from the flames, Om selflessly jumps through the fire to save her himself. He risks his life to 6

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save the girl he loves, and this is not the only time he will make unselfish choices. This devotion proves that Om has genuine character and is a suitable male companion for Shanti to date or even marry.

However, Om‘s role as the male rescuer casts Shanti in the role of damsel in distress. According to Virdi, ―In popular film the young male continues to be anointed the agent while the woman is powerless, an object to be acted upon‖ (67). Therefore, Shanti is perceived in a position of powerlessness where she is dependent on a man. Thus the movie sets up an ideal Hindu woman, one who is dependent and needs protection from a man.

Om is not the only male to influence Shanti‘s life. The character of Mukesh, an insatiably greedy man, is present as well. A later scene establishes the dichotomy between Om, who unconditionally cares for Shanti, and Mukesh, who abuses Shanti.

Surprisingly, it is revealed to the audience and Om that Mukesh is Shanti‘s husband. No one is previously aware of this marriage, because the young actress is forced to keep it a secret. This is because Mukesh is also the producer of Shanti‘s newest and biggest film, and he fears that no audience would be interested in seeing a movie with a married heroine. He is worried that an actress, unavailable because of marriage, could cause the movie to be a financial disaster. Because of his financial interests, Mukesh does not show the love and gratitude that his wife deserves. On the other hand, Shanti wants nothing more than to have the world know she loves Mukesh. She begs him to expose their relationship, but he refuses so he can become rich and famous.

Unlike Om, he is selfish, and is even set to marry another famous producer‘s daughter because the public is unaware of his marriage to Shanti. This new marriage will advance his career and increase his profits, the only things Mukesh cares about. The position of women within Hinduism has always been secondary to that of men. Women‘s subservience has been perpetuated through the social and cultural practices in India that place the man in a position of dominance (Mitra 134). Mukesh asserts his male superiority and expects Shanti to comply. In effect, Shanti must suppress her desires to be known as Mukesh‘s wife and allow him to marry another woman so he can become well-known. This may be the paramount example of a woman‘s cultural powerlessness, due to her marriage and career in film. Nonetheless, this is very typical of an on-screen relationship in the 1960s and 1970s. Shabana Azmi, a popular actress, states that ―In the 60s, there were women who were portrayed in a really stereotypically notion…the all-suffering wife…the sacrificing wife‖ College of Saint Rose

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(Ganti 189). Ultimately, Shanti must become all-suffering. She must die because she becomes pregnant and can no longer hide her marriage from Indian fans, effectively ruining Mukesh‘s dreams. He burns her and their unborn child in the house where the movie was to be filmed.

For one final time, Om attempts to save Shanti from the flames and win her over. He cared for her so deeply that he risks and loses his life trying to rescue her. This movie does an excellent job showing that even a woman who is a prominent movie star cannot escape the cultural constraints of her gender and be successful without her husband becoming jealous.

Similar to Om Shanti Om, jealousy is a theme in Omkara, the remake of Shakespeare‘s Othello, which is set in rural Uttar Pradesh.

The film immediately sets up the constructs of the ―perfect‖ Hindu wife by using the character Dolly (Kareena Kapoor). The qualities traditionally most admired in an ideal Hindu woman are modesty of manner, shyness and self-effacement. These behaviors are all exhibited

by Dolly throughout the movie. For example, one scene shows her in a traditional white shalwar kameez, or loose trousers with a tunic, learning to sing and play the song ―I Just Called to Say I Love You‖ on guitar. Dolly‘s morality is revealed by the femininity of her voice during this scene; her voice, which is high-pitched and natural, indicates her purity1 (Sundar 148). The white shalwar kameez is also representative of her innocence, which lends to a certain shyness that is an important cultural practice of Hindu women. Dolly‘s innocence is carried on throughout the movie, even though her fiancé Omkara is being led to think otherwise. For instance, she is only seen lying with him on a swinging bed. This swing symbolizes her childhood and virtue, creating a comforting lullaby as it rocks back and forth. Dolly is also perfectly fit to be a Hindu wife because she is playful. A particular scene uses slow motion to show Dolly lightheartedly chasing Omkara around the house, her white shalwar kameez and long hair waving in the wind as she runs dotingly after her husband. Finally, an important trait for the ideal Hindu wife is self-effacement. Dolly hides in the background and waits for her fiancé to return from work. Even though she is an intelligent woman, Dolly does not take a role by having a career, and instead leaves it to her husband.

Lata Mangeshkar‘s sweet and high pitched voice came to represent the pure, virginal, and ideal woman. For further reading, see Sundar Pavitra‘s "Women, Vocality, and Nation in Hindi Cinema," Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism, 2007.

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Although Omkara has a significant job, Dolly is not jealous of him nor does she feel inferior. Instead, she is cast in the chaste wifemother mold (Ganti 190). Dolly is truly in love with her fiancé Omkara, and Omkara reciprocates the feeling. It is important to note how Omkara treats his ―perfect‖ wife. In the beginning, he is chivalrous with his wife-to-be. The religious leader Ramakrishna once wrote that a man ―never forgets to look upon a woman as his mother, and to offer her his worship if he happens to be near her‖ (Richards 73). Despite his callous, military background, Omkara still treats Dolly in this manner; he is gentle and loving. In fact, the only time one sees this side of Omkara is when he is with Dolly, who is the love of his life. However, his behavior takes a sharp turn as soon as his right-hand man Langda starts planting the idea of Dolly cheating with his friend Kesu in his head. Omkara immediately becomes cold-hearted and irritated with Dolly, who, still fully innocent, is oblivious to what is happening. But to Omkara, Dolly is an object of possession and he owns her. Once he begins to think that she does not belong solely to him, he does not even want her anymore. The idea of women being objects of possession, as opposed to girlfriends or other human beings, fuels Omkara‘s jealously. Such ideas stem from the ancient Rig Veda, which expresses male concerns in a world dominated by men. One of these concerns is women, who appear throughout the hymns as objects and seldomly as subjects (O‘Flaherty 245). Omkara cannot stand to think of another man having his Dolly. Even though Dolly has done nothing to prove herself guilty, Omkara nonetheless believes Langda and gives into the suspicion that she is cheating. In a culmination of rage, jealousy, and passion, Omkara suffocates Dolly to death. Even though Dolly truly exemplified the pinnacle of a perfect woman in a Hindu relationship, she must die. She is killed on the night of her wedding.

Another film that contrasts the previously analyzed films is Dor, which does display happy couples on screen. It opens up in rural India, showing Amir proposing to his love Zeenat. From this scene, one can deduce that he worships and respects her. However, Amir must leave to work in Saudi Arabia and the ―good‖ relationship between a loving man and a loving woman is no longer shown in the movie. This separation is portrayed likely to demonstrate that the focus of the film is on women alone. It sets up the notion that men are not mean to their wives, and it is solely up to the women to challenge their gender expectations. Another couple living in the city of Rajasthan, Meera and Shankar, are also extremely satisfied with their marriage. A novel sex College of Saint Rose

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scene which shows extreme close ups of the two making love demonstrates their delight with their relationship. But again, Shankar must go to work in Saudi Arabia and the blissful couple must be separated. Unfortunately, Shankar tragically falls off a tenth floor balcony while away and dies. As a result, Meera cannot enjoy her life any longer and feels she must mourn, as this is the cultural expectation of widowed Hindus. To be a Hindu widow is to suffer a social death.

Immediately after the death of her husband, Shankar‘s family violently strips Meera of her jewels and brightly colored clothes. Her happiness is confiscated from her; shunned from society, she is no longer allowed to dance, see movies, or eat sweets. A burial hymn found in the Rig Veda warns ―Rise up, woman, into the world of living. Come here; you are lying beside a man whose life‘s breath has gone‖ (O‘Flaherty 52).

This early belief is complemented by a more recent quote of Gandhi‘s, in which he says ―If we would be pure, if we would save Hinduism, we must rid ourselves of this poison of enforced widowhood‖ (Richards 162). In the film, Zeenat travels long and far to Rajasthan. While there, she helps pull Meera out of the abyss of her widowhood and shows her that the life of a widow does not have to be full of gloom. Nevertheless, it is difficult for Meera to challenge her husband‘s family, as women face many restrictions when their men are taken away from them. For example, after Shankar‘s death, Meera was ostracized by his family and turned into an unpaid servant. According to John F. Burns‘ article ―Once Widowed in India, Twice Scorned,‖ this problem arises from patrilocal residence – the custom of Hindu brides marrying into their husbands' families, largely severing ties with their own. After becoming a widow, this often ―leaves a woman dependent on in-laws whose main interest…is to rid the family of the burden of supporting her‖ (Burns). Nonetheless, through the guidance and help of Zeenat, who teaches her to enjoy life again, Meera is able to overcome the cultural expectations of a widow in India. Cinematically, she is shown running in slow motion towards Zeenat‘s outstretched hand as her train pulls away. The slow motion makes audience members question if she will make it or not, and if she will be able to defy centuries of cultural practices. In a happy ending, Meera grabs Zeenat‘s hand and finally is able to conquer the burden of her gender.

Dor calls attention to the larger question of women defying their gender expectations. However, even independent women in more contemporary films, such as Hum Tum (Kunal Kohli, 2004) and Dostana (Tarun Mansukhani, 2008) still must adhere to cultural expectations. For example, the main character Rhea of Hum Tum feels 10

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pressured by her mother and Indian friends to get remarried after the death of her husband. They are baffled by her desire not to be tied down by a man. In Dostana, Neha is a successful magazine editor who is still constrained by her Indian roots to being known as a ―desi girl,‖ a nickname which makes an object out of her. Rather than taking Neha seriously, the male characters in the film lie to her in an attempt to win her love. In the two films where the women do not meet men‘s ―ideal‖ expectations of a wife, such as Dolly who is considered ―unfaithful‖ and Shanti who interfered with Mukesh‘s career, they are killed. This demonstrates that, as portrayed by popular cinema, there was a slight change in the position of women from the 1970s to the 2000s.

However, films such as Dor confirm that the social hierarchy of male over female can be disrupted, and relationships where men and women are equal can exist in India. Despite the death of Meera‘s kind husband, she was able to conquer the cultural and gender practices expected of her and lead a happy life. Bollywood is making a progressive movement towards showing more independent women who are not completely defined by their husbands.

Works Cited Burns, John F. "Once Widowed in India, Twice Scorned." New York Times 28 Mar. 1998. Print.

Dor. Dir. Nagesh Kukunoor. Perf. Ayesha Takia and Gul Panag. THouse Productions, 2006. DVD. Dostana. Dir. Tarun Mansukhani. Perf. John Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra. Dharma Productions, 2008.

DVD. Ganti, Tejaswini. "Reflections and Perspectives on Hindi Cinema by Contemporary Bombay Filmmakers: Women in the Bombay Film Industry." Bollywood a Guidebook to Popular Hindi Cinema. New York: Routledge, 2004. 188-92. Print.

Hum Tum. Dir. Kunal Kohli. Perf. Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukherjee.

Yash Raj Films, 2004. DVD. Mitra, Ananda. Television and Popular Culture in India: A Study of the Mahabhara. New Delhi: Sage Publications, 1993. Print.

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O'Flaherty, Wendy D. The Rig Veda: An Anthology : One Hundred and Eight Hymns, Selected, Translated and Annotated.

Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England: Penguin, 1981. Print.

Omkara. Dir. Vishal Bhardwaj. Perf. Ajay Devgan and Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan and Konkona Sen Sharma. Eros Entertainment, 2006. DVD. Om Shanti Om. Dir. Farah Khan. Perf. Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone and Arjun Rampal. Eros Entertainment, 2007.

DVD. Richards, Glyn. A Source-Book of Modern Hinduism. London: Curzon, 1985. Print.

Sundar, Pavitra. "Women, Vocality, and Nation in Hindi Cinema."

Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism 8.1 (2007): 144-79. Print.

Virdi, Jyotika. "The Idealized Woman." The Cinematic ImagiNation: Indian Popular Films as Social History. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Univ. Pr., 2003. 60-86. Print.

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Authorship of the New Sacristy

Introduction to “Pope Clement VII, Michelangelo and the Authorship of the New Sacristy” Theresa Flanigan Assistant Professor of Art History It is the Renaissance period in which the modern notion of the artist as creative genius was born. Previously, most artists were considered craftsmen, who were skilled at one or more artistic medium.

Before the rise of the art market, most artworks were executed according to the orders of a patron, who commissioned a work, financed it, provided its design requirements, and who often received authorial credit for the final product. This patronage model did not disappear in the Renaissance period. In fact, it remained the norm.

What did change, however, was the degree to which the artist came to be valued for his (most known artists in this period were male) unique technical (mechanical) and creative (intellectual) abilities. As a result, individual artists and their works began to be sought out and appreciated for those specific qualities.

Instrumental to this rise in the status of the artist (and to the modern definition of artist) was the publication in 1550 and 1568 of Giorgio Vasari‘s series of artist biographies, entitled The Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects (or The Lives of the Artists). In this text Vasari highlights key artists whose creative and technical skills exceeded those who came before. These artists he claims were divinely inspired, and thus beyond worldly external influence. The apogee of Vasari‘s 1550 version of The Lives of the Artists was Vasari‘s own teacher and mentor, the one artist who ―transcends and surpasses them all, [this] is the divine Michelangelo Buonarroti, who reigns supreme not merely in one of these arts but in all three [painting, sculpture, and architecture] at once.‖1 Thus, the myth of Michelangelo as a divinely-inspired and solitary creative genius emerged. This myth was partly constructed and perpetuated by the artist himself, who destroyed many of his own preparatory drawings and commissioned his own (quasi auto) biography published in 1553 by Ascanio Condivi, in which were excluded or marginalized those who influenced Michelangelo and were responsible for his artistic training. As a result, Michelangelo typically receives complete 1

Giorgio Vasari, The Lives of the Artists, as translated by Julia Conway Bondanella and Peter Bondanella (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), 282.

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credit for his works, although we know that he worked for patrons and with teams of assistants.

In this essay, Monica Hastedt explores the relationship between Michelangelo and his patron Pope Clement VII (Giulio de‘Medici) during the design and construction of the New Sacristy in San Lorenzo, Florence. Based on her interpretation of primary source material, specifically published letters and drawings, Monica argues that Pope Clement VII played a greater role in the design process than is often recognized and that his suggestions resulted in significant changes to Michelangelo‘s design. She also argues that Michelangelo‘s collaborative relationship with his Medici patron was unique due to their shared adolescence in the house of Lorenzo de‘Medici, and therefore, should not be considered a typical artistclient model for the Renaissance period. Monica concludes that, in fact, Michelangelo‘s New Sacristy at San Lorenzo should be seen as an atypical collaboration between artist and patron and that authorial credit should be shared by both Michelangelo and Pope Clement VII. Monica presented the preliminary findings of this research on site in the New Sacristy in Florence as part of my special topics course, Studying Michelangelo in Italy. The conclusions that appear in this essay evolved during a subsequent independent study with me and were previously presented at the College of Saint Rose Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium in April, 2011.

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Pope Clement VII, Michelangelo, and the Authorship of the New Sacristy Monica Hastedt Studio Art Major: Class of 2011 My research focuses on the unusual patron-artist relationship between Giulio de Medici, who became Pope Clement VII in 1523, and Michelangelo. This relationship is represented through correspondence starting with the commissioning of the Medici Chapel in 1519 until the end of Clement’s papacy in 1534. This evidence of friendship and favor suggests that the New Sacristy is a product of partnership between Michelangelo and Giulio de Medici (who became Pope Clement VII during the project). Credit for the New Sacristy is typically given solely to Michelangelo. However, Pope Clement VII's role as patron and his contribution to the design of the New Sacristy at San Lorenzo both by himself and as Pope Leo X's liaison, is also important. The notion of the changing role of patron and artist has allowed me to explore the idea of patronage to include the patron as an assistant in the design process.

In 1519 Cardinal Giulio de Medici, on behalf of his cousin Pope Leo X, commissioned Michelangelo to erect a mausoleum in San Lorenzo for four Medici family members: Lorenzo the Magnificent (Leo X's father), Leo X's uncle Giuliano, Leo X's nephew Lorenzo the Duke of Urbino, and Leo X's brother Giuliano the Duke of Nemours.

Now commonly known as the New Sacristy, the Medici chapel was to mirror Brunelleschi's original Medici burial chamber and sacristy in both plan and function and is located on the opposite side of the church's transept. Brunelleschi's chapel, now known as the Old Sacristy built in 1440, houses the bodies of Lorenzo the Magnificent‘s greatgrandparents, Giovanni di Bicci de‘Medici and his wife Piccaida, and later Lorenzo's father and uncle, Piero and Giovanni, whose tombs were made in 1472 by Andrea del Verrochio. As part of a church, a sacristy does not usually house a tomb or monument. A sacristy functions as a room in which the priest keeps the vestments and prepares for mass. Even though there is also no need for more than one sacristy, San Lorenzo has two.

At the request of his patron Cardinal Giulio de Medici, Michelangelo designed the New Sacristy similar to that of the Old College of Saint Rose

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Monica Hastedt Sacristy.1 Both sacristies are centralized spaces, square in foundation, with the bulk of the artwork, consisting of large architectural and sculptural entablatures, pilasters, and niches, located on the walls. 2 The plans are identical in layout, which includes a main space and altar chapel. The main space is square in shape with a small altar on the south side that is connected to the main space by a round arched opening.

Overall, the elevation of the New Sacristy is separated into three stories by pietra serena entablatures.3 Michelangelo's New Sacristy is one story taller than Brunelleschi's Old Sacristy, due to the addition of an attic story below the dome's pendentives. 4 The ground layer holds the bulk of the sculptural tomb monuments as well as the large dark stone corner pilasters and the eight doors (only four of which actually work). Above the ground layer is the attic or mezzo layer with aedicular windows and large triangular pediments. 5 The third story is home to four lunettes placed between pendentives, each housing one window with an arched pediment. Each pendentive has a roundel in the center and the coffered dome rests above this layer.6 The interior planes of the room are articulated with pietra serena stone work.

The interior architecture of the New Sacristy is similar to the architecture in the painted framework of the Sistine Ceiling, also by Michelangelo. The walls appear as relief sculptures with intersecting pilasters, cornices, entablatures and molding on different planes. 7 This difference in depth, as well as weight in each of the walls, gives the architecture a sense of monumentality and blurs the line between sculpture and architecture, making the work difficult to define. The boundaries between the media was blurred when Michelangelo enlarged and emphasized components such as the entablatures and moldings causing them to appear as relief sculptures instead of functioning pieces of architecture.

1

Unfinished letter, Florence, March 1520, in The Letters of Michelangelo: Volume 1, edited by E. H. Ramsden Stanford (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1963), 128129.

2 An entablature is the horizontal section of a doorway, or window that rests above the columns or posts. A pilaster is a column applied to the face of a wall that is only used as decoration and does not affect structural integrity.

3 Pietra Serena is grey sandstone.

4 Pendentives are the triangular segments of a building that allow a dome to rest on a square base.

5 A pediment is the triangular section above the entablature of a frame or doorway.

6 A lunette is a half moon shaped space, and a roundel is a round panel.

7 A cornice is the upper most section of an entablature.

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The tombs are placed opposite one another against elaborate walls with the portraits of the two captains, Lorenzo and Giuliano, enthroned in the very center alcoves. Below are the allegorical figures of Day and Night, and Dawn and Dusk, reclining on the curved lids of the tombs. Placed on the wall, opposite the altar where the Magnificents' double tomb was to go, is the figure of Madonna flanked by the Medici patron Saints Cosmos and Damian.

Michelangelo and Authorship Cardinal Giulio and Michelangelo worked together on the design of the New Sacristy, just as Michelangelo worked with a fleet of sculptors and stonemasons to complete the physical project.

Michelangelo did not work alone and was not the solitary artistic genius we have been led to believe he is. Michelangelo worked with other people in order to complete his commissions and satisfy his patrons. In art history, Michelangelo is usually given credit for the New Sacristy with the patron mentioned in reference to the project.

Originally, a genius was seen as an influence, either good or bad, but that changed as the role of the individual increased in importance. An artistic genius is not just one who excels in their field, but one who surpasses the medium, an artist who impacts history.8 The first recorded term ―artistic genius‖ cannot be securely dated. Among art history scholars, the general consensus is that the phrase arose during the Renaissance, when art was flourishing. Giorgio Vasari emphasizes Michelangelo as a genius in his Lives of the Artists in 1568, when he claimed that ―Michelangelo's genius soared even higher...‖ in reference to his work on the Sistine Chapel ceiling which the artist completed in 1512.9 He likens Michelangelo to the culmination of the development of Renaissance art.10 Vasari suggests that Michelangelo broke the bonds of previous artistic canons and that he did it on his own. This reinforces our current view of Michelangelo as a solitary genius artist. This view of the artist as a lone genius was supported when Ascanio Condivi wrote his biography of 8

William Wallace, Michelangelo at San Lorenzo: Genius as Entrepreneur (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 7.

9 Giorgio Vasari, Lives of the Most Eminent Painters (New York: The Heritage Press, 1967), 2: 137. The difference between the 1550 and 1568 versions of Vasari's Lives is the attention paid to Michelangelo's early work. Vasari assimilates Condivi's interpretation of Michelangelo's early work and early career, where he had glossed over in the earlier edition.

10 Ibid., 2: 107.

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Monica Hastedt Michelangelo's life which predates Vasari's 1568 edition.11 Condivi, in his letter to Pope Julius II in 1553 mentions that as Jesus is the ―Prince of Christianity,‖ Michelangelo is the ―Prince of the art of design.‖12 The theory of divine artist and genius was furthered by Michelangelo himself. Condivi wrote about Michelangelo's life at the request of the artist, therefore Michelangelo perpetuated this view of solo artist in order to further his own fame. He understood that with his fame came more commissions, and it cemented his place in history. This allows us to see ―genius‖ as another category of authorship established during the Renaissance and perpetuated by art historians. Scholar Cammy Brothers declares that Michelangelo's self fashioning helped shape the entire category of ―genius‖ based on his own ideas. 13 In recent articles Michelangelo scholar William Wallace refutes the belief that Michelangelo was the solitary genius artist emphasized by Condivi and Vasari. He declares that Michelangelo needed to work with other people in order to complete his commissions at San Lorenzo and throughout his other projects. This furthers my own argument that Michelangelo worked with Pope Clement VII. The artist needed assistants and quarriers, as well as people to oversee these tasks. At San Lorenzo, Michelangelo worked with over 300 stonemasons and carvers.14 It was not only people working under Michelangelo that assisted in the creation of the New Sacristy, but also his patron. At San Lorenzo, Cardinal Giulio/Pope Clement VII was Michelangelo's patron for the New Sacristy. As evidence, we look to the various letters from Michelangelo to the Pope discussing its design, funds and people under Michelangelo‗s direction. Through Michelangelo's letters to Guilio in which he requests more money, we understand that before becoming pope, Giulio was in charge of budget and supervision of the San Lorenzo projects.15 There are also letters

11

Asciano Condivi, The Life of Michelangelo (United Kingdom: Pallas Athene, 2007), 33-34.

12 Ibid., 31.

13 Cammy Brothers, Michelangelo, Drawing and the Invention of Artchitecture (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008), 4. Brothers claims Michelangelo was a craftsman of his own biography and reception. Michelangelo was able to condition his posthumous reputation and shape the entire category of ―genius‖ with his own criteria.

14 William Wallace, Michelangelo at San Lorenzo: Genius as Entrepreneur (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 197-200. Wallace compiles a detailed chart of names, wages and time of everyone who worked with Michelangelo at San Lorenzo.

15 Michelangelo to Giulio de Medici, Florence, June 1521, in The Letters of Michelangelo: Volume 1, edited by E. H. Ramsden Stanford (Stanford, CA: Stanford

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from Michelangelo to his assistants describing work he needs completed for the New Sacristy. 16 These letters are further proof that Michelangelo was not the solitary genius he professed himself to be.

Michelangelo had assistants and his patron to help him work through his designs and provide suggestion; he did not work alone.

Wallace claims, and I agree, that as writers and contemporaries of the artist, Vasari and Condivi shaped scholarship about Michelangelo and therefore our view of the artist. 17 It is difficult for scholars to be unbiased toward Michelangelo due to Vasari and Condivi‘s contributions to art history. Scholars looked to Vasari and Condivi as primary sources even though both works were partially overseen by Michelangelo himself and thus show bias and embellishment. Therefore, most of the scholarship following the publishing of Vasari and Condivi‘s work is subjective. Though Michelangelo embellished his history and abilities, he was a main force in the advancement of the status of artists from craftsmen to geniuses. 18 The individual artist becomes an important and powerful figure himself. This is perpetuated by the changing roles of patrons in the early Renaissance.

Patronage According to today‘s Merriam Webster dictionary, a patron is a wealthy or influential supporter of an artist.19 Patron scholar Jill Burke explains that Lorenzo the Magnificent began to change the definition of patron and thus the definition of artist during the Renaissance. He moved from the idea that artists were craftsmen, and therefore tools, to the humanist belief that the artist was a friend and, therefore, needed to be nurtured and supported.20 Early Reniassance patrons, before Lorenzo, were often given credit for the work of art

University Press, 1963), 136-137. After becoming Pope in 1523, Clement VII/Giulio, was forced to supervise work on the New Sacristy from Rome.

16 Michelangelo to Piero Gondi, Florence, January 1524, in The Letters of Michelangelo: Volume 1, edited by E. H. Ramsden Stanford (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1963),153-154.

17 William Wallace, Michelangelo at San Lorenzo: Genius as Entrepreneur (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 7.

18 Ibid., 1.

19 ―Patron,‖ Merriam-Webster, accessed January 2, 2012, http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/patron.html.

20 Jill Burke, Changing Patrons: Social Identity and the Visual Arts in Renaissance Florence (University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2004), 94-95.

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Monica Hastedt instead of the artist.21 It is my belief that the change in the definition of patron initiated by Lorenzo the Magnificent culminated in the collaborative relationship between Michelangelo and Cardinal Giulio/Pope Clement VII. Having grown up within Lorenzo the Magnificent's household with future Popes Leo X and Clement VII, Michelangelo pursued art with Lorenzo‘s new model of patronage. 22 With the support of a patron instead of a ―customer‖ Michelangelo is able to tout himself as a novelty as opposed to a commodity. Clement VII was following Lorenzo's example and the fact the he knew Michelangelo personally was another way of changing the concept of patronage. The concept of a friendship as an ideal patron/artist relationship allowed for a freedom of action. The artist and patron could discuss issues and pursue ideas without fear. The notion of changing the role of patron and artist has allowed me to explore the idea of patronage to further include the patron as an assistant in the design process, able to make informed decisions regarding the creation of work commissioned.

Sheryl Reiss is one of the few scholars who focus on Cardinal Giulio's patronage before he became Pope Clement VII. We know that it was Cardinal Giulio, not Pope Leo X, that proposed the New Sacristy in 1520, after the death of Lorenzo Duke of Urbino. 23 Reiss maintains that a draft for Michelangelo's lost letter of November 23, 1520, and Cardinal Giulios' letter of November 28, 1520 help to clarify that drawings and design ideas were sent between the two. Michelangelo presented sketches of the New Sacristy‘s design as a work in progress, instead of the highly finished presentation (clay or wooden models) that artists usually delivered to the patron before work began. This exchange of drawings and ideas becomes the norm throughout their correspondence something that was not typical of the time. 24 This exchange of design ideas is not the usual way a patron and artist would correspond. Typically the artist would have to present finished models to the patron and the patron would approve or disapprove before even starting the project. This was not the case with the New Sacristy. The changing definitions of artist and patron lead to the unique relationship shown by Cardinal Giulio and Michelangelo.

21

Ibid.

Ibid., 95-96.

23 Sheryl E. Reiss, ―Cardinal Giulio de' Medici as a Patron of Art, 1513-1523, (PhD diss., University of Michigan, 1992), 291.

24 Ibid, 524.

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Drawings and Letters as Evidence Michelangelo's documents, both letters and drawings, provide a wealth of information about the New Sacristy and its progress. His drawings of architecture were a way of working out issues in the design, and his letters allow more insight into the artist and his relationship to others. Armed with the information the letters and drawings provide, we can determine that the New Sacristy is the result of a patron/artist partnership. This partnership should have resulted in credit for the New Sacristy to be given to both Michelangelo and Giulio de Medici (who became Pope Clement VII in 1523).

Few letters survive from the beginning of this project because Pope Clement VII was still a Cardinal when the New Sacristy was commissioned, and therefore still in Florence. There are more letters dealing with the Laurentian Library and the New Sacristy after Clement VII became Pope in 1523 and was forced to supervise his projects from a distance. The letters during Clement VII‘s papacy are addressed to Giovani Francesco Fattucci, who was intermediary between the pope and artist.25 Johannes Wilde,26 Paul Joannides,27 Andrew Morrough,28 Caroline Elam,29 William Wallace,30 and Cammy Brothers use the letters and drawings of the New Sacristy to determine a chronology, as well as Michelangelo's process of design and production.31 The above mentioned scholars agree that Clement VII, as patron for the New Sacristy, did not approve of a central tomb design, William Wallace, ―Clement VII and Michelangelo: An Anatomy of Patronage,‖ in The Pontificate of Clement VII: History, Politics, Culture, edited by Gouwens, Kenneth, and Sheryl E. Reiss (Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Co., 2005),191.

26 Johannes Wilde, ―Michelangelo's Designs for the Medici Tombs,‖ Journal of Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 18, no. ½ (January-June, 1959): 57, http://jstor.org/stable750287 (accessed January 22, 2010).

27 Paul Joannides, ―Michelangelo's Medici Chapel: Some New Suggestions,‖ The Burlington Magazine 114, no. 833 (August, 1972): 545, http://www.jstor.org/stable/877066 (accessed January 27, 2010).

28 Andrew Morrough, ―The Magnifici Tomb: A Key Project in Michelangelo's Architectural Career,‖ The Art Bulletin 74, no. 4 (December, 1992), 565, http://jstor.org/stable/3045911 (accessed January 22, 2010).

29 Caroline Elam, ―Michelangelo and the Clementine Architectural Style,‖ In The Pontificate of Clement VII: History, Politics, Culture, edited by Gouwens, Kenneth, and Sheryl E. Reiss (Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Co., 2005), 221.

30 William Wallace, ―Clement VII and Michelangelo: An Anatomy of Patronage,‖ in The Pontificate of Clement VII: History, Politics, Culture, edited by Gouwens, Kenneth, and Sheryl E. Reiss (Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Co., 2005), 191.

31 Cammy Brothers, Michelangelo, Drawing and the Invention of Artchitecture (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008), 132.

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as evident in the letters. This is further proof that Clement VII influenced the design of the New Sacristy. In November of 1520, Clement VII (then known as Cardinal Giulio) wrote to Michelangelo about issues he saw in the design. He couldn't understand how four tombs could fit into one central monument and he felt that there would be no space to walk around the chapel.32 Wilde's 1955 article was the earliest to suggest that prior to becoming Pope in 1523, Clement VII had more to do with the designs of the chapel than just providing money for the commission.33 Michelangelo submitted a design for the chapel (not the tombs) to the patron and marble quarrying began in 1520. We know that there are letters, some which have been lost, that show a correspondence between Clement VII and Michelangelo regarding the design of a central tomb. Clement VII was against the large monument in the center, and he provided other suggestions, such as a monument that you could walk through. 34 I agree with Wilde‘s argument that the design changes in the drawings suggests a correspondence between patron and artist. These suggestions could have prompted Michelangelo to find other solutions to issues in the design that the patron pointed out. Thus it is another representation of the unique relationship between patron and artist.

Morrough argues that Clement VII helped to direct Michelangelo's inspiration toward the establishment of a fresh and elaborate style. 35 This style consisted of enlarging and embellishing architectural components in accordance to Clement VII‘s wish for greater monumentality. The architecture then becomes more sculptural.

The correspondence between Clement VII and Michelangelo allowed Clement VII more input in the design. It was after 1523 that Michelangelo produced a design with emphasis on the architectural components of the tombs, in response to the patrons wish for greater

Johannes Wilde, ―Michelangelo's Designs for the Medici Tombs,‖ Journal of Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 18, no. ½ (January-June, 1959): 57, http://jstor.org/stable750287 (accessed January 22, 2010). Look at note 1for reference to Cardinal's letter to Michelangelo dated November 28, 1520.

33 Ibid., 60.

34 Ibid., 58. Wilde discusses the letters and their contents. He claims that a drawings sent from Michelangelo to the Cardinal in December of 1520 caused the Cardinal to create his own alternate design for the ―central‖ tomb Michlenagelo was determined to do. The November 1520 designs did not survive.

35 Andrew Morrough, ―The Magnifici Tomb: A Key Project in Michelangelo's Architectural Career,‖ The Art Bulletin 74, no. 4 (December, 1992), 565, http://jstor.org/stable/3045911 (accessed January 22, 2010).

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Authorship of the New Sacristy monumentality without loss of space.36 This is further proof of a partnership between Michelangelo and Pope Clement VII. Michelangelo was going to do a central tomb, but Clement VII wanted to be able to use the Chapel, and therefore, a central tomb would be too large and a poor use of space.37 In assuring Michelangelo that the New Sacristy was going to be in use, Clement VII was able to ensure that Michelangelo designed the New Sacristy with a more practical eye.

This practicality is what Clement VII himself was famous for.38 During the gap between Medici popes, from 1521 to 1523, work on the New Sacristy halted, but this did not necessarily stop Michelangelo from continuing to work on drawings for the design.

Morrough compares two sets of drawings, those of April 1521 and the ones created after Clement became Pope in 1523, in order to determine what changes could have been made and why. After becoming Pope, Clement VII asked to see designs for several parts of the tomb. 39 Michelangelo, unhappy with his drawings from April 1521, reworked them relying on the Pope's willingness to spend money. 40 With the death of Leo X, the funds for the Chapel were stopped and no work was done until Cardinal Giulio became Pope Clement VII and, during the time between Medici Popes, Michelangelo made changes to the design.41 After a letter written by Michelangelo to both the Clement VII and Fattucci, marble was re-ordered in 1524.42 Calling for different pieces of marble is evidence of changes in the design as more marble would be needed if there where alterations in the basic design of the project. The fact that Michelangelo relied on Clement VII for funds, support, and design approval, is another example of partnership between artist and patron. This reliance on a patron for design ideas and funds is a rare occurrence in Michelangelo's process. In other 36

Ibid., 571. Giulio/Clement did not want a large central tomb that disrupted the function of the New Sacristy, but still wanted it to be impressive.

37 Paul Joannides, ―Michelangelo's Medici Chapel: Some New Suggestions,‖ The Burlington Magazine 114, no. 833 (August, 1972): 545, http://www.jstor.org/stable/877066 (accessed January 27, 2010).

38 Cammy Brothers, Michelangelo, Drawing and the Invention of Artchitecture (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008), 132.

39 Andrew Morrough, ―The Magnifici Tomb: A Key Project in Michelangelo's Architectural Career.‖ The Art Bulletin 74, no. 4 (December, 1992), 580, http://jstor.org/stable/3045911 (accessed January 22, 2010).

40 Ibid., 577.

41 Paul Joannides, ―Michelangelo's Medici Chapel: Some New Suggestions,‖ The Burlington Magazine 114, no. 833 (August, 1972): 545, http://www.jstor.org/stable/877066 (accessed January 27, 2010).

42 Ibid.

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projects, he generally relied on the patron for funds and support, not design ideas.

Clement VII helped to encourage Michelangelo to find other solutions. The beginning design of the chapel was plagued by practical problems.43 Clement was an astute patron of architecture, concerned with both the practical and the conceptual elements of the design. The Pope was both a critical and practical patron and he was able to grasp the architectural problems and push Michelangelo forward. There was a certain respect developed between patron and artist, Clement VII and Michelangelo, which was not present in other patron/artist relationships of the time. Michelangelo was able to create his own unique style when encouraged by Clement VII with his first architectural commission, the New Sacristy.

Clement VII's patronage of the New Sacristy is well documented by William Wallace, Caroline Elam, and Sheryl Reiss, who all agree that Clement VII was a interested and well informed patron of the arts. What is not discussed in detail by scholars, and what I will delve into, is Clement VII's unorthodox patron/artist relationship with Michelangelo.

While Giovani Francesco Fattucci was intermediary between pope and artist, Clement still made time for Michelangelo.44 We know this due to a series of letters in which Michelangelo requests more money and complains about feuds between craftsmen to Fattucci. 45 There is also evidence of direct correspondence between Michelangelo and Clement VII, although these letters are less frequent than those written to Fattucci.46 The direct correspondence is rare, as Popes do not usually communicate directly with an artist, however with Michelangelo this seems to happened often. He worked under several different Popes in his lifetime, most notably Pope Julius II (Sistine ceiling and Julius' tomb). When Michelangelo worked under Pope Julius II, he complained and argued and rarely agreed with the Pope.

43

Cammy Brothers, Michelangelo, Drawing and the Invention of Artchitecture (New Haven: Yale Uiversity Press, 2008), 132.

44 William Wallace, ―Clement VII and Michelangelo: An Anatomy of Patronage,‖ in The Pontificate of Clement VII: History, Politics, Culture, edited by Gouwens, Kenneth, and Sheryl E. Reiss (Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Co., 2005),191.

45 Michelangelo to Giovanni Francesco Fattucci, Florence, April 1523, in The Letters of Michelangelo: Volume 1, edited by E. H. Ramsden Stanford (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1963),142-143.

46 Michelangelo to Pope Clement VII, Florence, January 1524, in The Letters of Michelangelo: Volume 1, edited by E. H. Ramsden Stanford (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1963),151.

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Michelangelo and Clement VII corresponded frequently about many different topics, from the design of the New Sacristy to day to day progress of other commissions. 47 Wallace states that Clement VII was a very involved patron, and he later mentions the Pope telling Michelangelo to do things his own way at San Lorenzo but to keep the Pope informed. Wallace argues that the drawings Michelangelo sent were to keep the Pope abreast of the work done on the New Sacristy and rarely where they submitted for Clement VII's approval. 48 I disagree, the variance in correspondence over the drawings has more to do with Clement VII and Michelangelo working through parts of the design, and less to do with the Pope allowing Michelangelo to do as he wished with the project. Clement VII‘s involvement in the project from its inception is not that of a disinterested patron, he was educated and interested in architecture and design. However, the fact that Michelangelo had the Pope's permission to solve challenges within the New Sacristy project could be seen as Clement VII trusting Michelangelo to make the right decision. This freedom of design could be seen as Clement VII making changes in the design and Michelangelo having to find a compromise. This is Michelangelo's reaction to issues in the New Sacristy‘s designs and his attempt to please his patron.49 Clement VII's documented involvement with building projects and their decoration provides evidence of his architectural knowledge, personal style (i.e., the need for greater monumentality), and unorthodox solutions.50 The New Sacristy and Laurentian Library are examples of a new stylistic direction, created in part by the inventive development of the artist and can be attributed to the patron and his personal style.51 This is an instance where partnership between patron and artist resulted in the patron being given some of the credit for the design.

William Wallace, ―Clement VII and Michelangelo: An Anatomy of Patronage,‖ in The Pontificate of Clement VII: History, Politics, Culture, edited by Gouwens, Kenneth, and Sheryl E. Reiss (Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Co., 2005), 192. This is also evident in the letter mentioned in note 15.

48 Ibid., 194.

49 Caroline Elam, ―Michelangelo and the Clementine Architectural Style,‖ In The Pontificate of Clement VII: History, Politics, Culture, edited by Gouwens, Kenneth, and Sheryl E. Reiss (Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Co., 2005), 221. Elam does not go into detail about Clement's architectural style, she only states that he had a concern for richness and durability of materials.

50 See footnote 36.

51 Ibid., 201.

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Pope Clement VII could grasp the technical aspects of a drawing and he had no need for wood or clay models. Clement VII asked Michelangelo to regularly send the drawings with his updates on the progress of the New Sacristy. Due to his presence at Lorenzo the Magnificent's household, the Pope (then Giulio de Medici) could understand what Michelangelo wanted to pursue through his drawings and sketches and therefore had no need for neatly rendered models. 52 In agreement with Wallace, Elam makes an excellent point when she suggests that the evolution of Michelangelo's architectural ideas in the 1520s can be seen as a response to challenges posed to him by the pope.53 Elam goes on to discuss that while Leo X could not be bothered with Michelangelo, Clement VII seemed to have no problem in his interactions with the artist.54 I find that it is possible that Clement VII's knowledge of architecture and design allowed him to challenge Michelangelo in order to keep the artist occupied and interested in the projects at San Lorenzo and easier interact with. This is another way in which patron and artist worked together in an artistic endeavor.

Clement VII, as patron for the New Sacristy, did not approve of a central tomb design, as evident in letters. This is the only instance that other scholars focus on in which Clement VII has more input in the design than the average Renaissance patron. Michelangelo worked with Pope Clement VII, and was not a solitary artistic genius. However, we are only seeing one side of the process, that of the artist. We are seeing Michelangelo's responses to changes Clement VII may have made in the design. Cardinal Giulio de Medici's letters are few in the early stages of work on the New Sacristy because he was in Florence and could observe the work himself. After he became Pope in 1523, the correspondence between patron and artist flourishes and the partnership between them is most evident. Clement VII, as patron of the New Sacristy, worked with Michelangelo in the design of said space. I argue that this connection and collaboration between patron and artist was

William Wallace, ―Clement VII and Michelangelo: An Anatomy of Patronage,‖ in The Pontificate of Clement VII: History, Politics, Culture, edited by Gouwens, Kenneth, and Sheryl E. Reiss (Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Co., 2005), 194.

53 Caroline Elam, ―Michelangelo and the Clementine Architectural Style,‖ in The Pontificate of Clement VII: History, Politics, Culture, edited by Gouwens, Kenneth, and Sheryl E. Reiss (Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Co., 2005), 200.

54 Ibid., 220-221.

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rare in the Renaissance and as a result, is not present in any of Michelangelo's relationships with other patrons.

An artistic genius is one who surpasses the medium, an artist who impacts history. Michelangelo was lauded as such by his peers, his reputation and his biographers. We now know that Michelangelo was not the solo genius artist that he and his biographers (Condivi and Vasari) lead us to believe he was. Credit for the New Sacristy should be given to both Michelangelo and Pope Clement VII. Patron and artist worked together on the design of the New Sacristy, through drawings, letters, suggestions and corrections. The New Sacristy is a product of partnership between Michelangelo and Pope Clement VII and cannot be attributed to one or the other.

Bibliography Brothers, Cammy. Michelangelo, Drawing and the Invention of Architecture. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008.

Burke, Jill. Changing Patrons: Social Identity and the Visual Arts in Renaissance Florence. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2004.

Condivi, Asciano. The Life of Michelangelo. United Kingdom: Pallas Athene, 2007.

Elam, Caroline. ―Michelangelo and the Clementine Architectural Style.‖ In The Pontificate of Clement VII: History, Politics, Culture, edited by Gouwens, Kenneth, and Sheryl E. Reiss, 199-225. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Co., 2005 Joannides, Paul. ―Michelangelo's Medici Chapel: Some New Suggestions.‖ The Burlington Magazine 114, no. 833 (August, 1972): 541-551, http://www.jstor.org/stable/877066 (accessed January 27, 2010) Merriam-Webster. ―Patron.‖ Accessed January 2, 2012. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/patron.html.

Morrough, Andrew. ―The Magnifici Tomb: A Key Project in Michelangelo's Architectural Career.‖ The Art Bulletin 74, no.

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4 (December, 1992): 567-598, http://jstor.org/stable/3045911 (accessed January 22, 2010).

Ramsden, E. H., trans. The Letters of Michelangelo. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1963.

Reiss, Sheryl E. ―Cardinal Giulio de' Medici as a patron of art, 15131523, Chapter XI: The New Sacristy of San Lorenzo.‖ PhD diss., University of Michigan, 1992.

Wallace, William. Michelangelo at San Lorenzo: Genius as Entrepreneur. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1994.

Wallace, William. ―Clement VII and Michelangelo: An Anatomy of Patronage.‖ In The Pontificate of Clement VII: History, Politics, Culture, edited by Gouwens, Kenneth, and Sheryl E. Reiss, 189-198. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Co., 2005 Wilde, Johannes. ―Michelangelo's Designs for the Medici Tombs.‖ Journal of Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 18, no.1/2 (January-June, 1959): 54-66, http://www.jstor.org/stable/750287 (accessed January 22, 2010) Vasari,Giorgio. Lives of the Most Eminent Painters. New York: The Heritage Press, 1967.

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Texans in Comancheria

Introduction to “Texans in Comancheria: Imperial Rivalry on the Southern Plains, 1836-1848” Bridgett Williams-Searle Associate Professor of History Ethnohistorians – those who study Native American culture in historical perspective – have long struggled with how to integrate their findings into the larger national narrative of United States history.

Historians were often reluctant to address the process by which the United States became an imperial settler-state and reflect on the ways in which that process shaped both key aspects of American national development and American Indian life.

Beginning in the mid-1990s, ethnohistorians turned to the concept of ―borderlands‖ as a possible analytic solution. Building from the work of scholars such as Gloria Anzaldua and Richard White, Jeremy Adelman and Stephen Aron proposed exploring how the nature and expression of power relations changed at the intersection of contested territories (whether those territories were physical, ideological, or cognitive). Unfortunately, when this promising theoretical concept was implemented, it immediately became less plastic and less authentic to the lived experience of indigenous people.

A generation of historians turned their eyes to the trans-Appalachian frontier, the Mississippi Valley, and the American Southwest, framing these spaces as zones of interaction in territory claimed by multiple colonial powers in which Native Americans operated from positions of increasing powerlessness. By insisting on actual terrestrial borders and privileging the claims of European powers over the rights and activities of those who actually lived, worked, and fought in the spaces under consideration, borderlands history often had the curious effect of marginalizing (or erasing) the very people whom historians had sought to make central.

However, the newest generation of scholars – Elana Krischer among them – has begun to challenge the underlying state-centered assumptions of the borderlands theoretical model. As Krischer argues, the Comanche were non-state imperialists who controlled vast territories across the Southern Plains, bounded only by the reach of their war parties; they grew rich and powerful from the trade routes that ran through these lands and defended these routes against all comers.

While Mexican and American governments might have wishfully gestured towards Comanche territories, Krischer convincingly argues College of Saint Rose

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that Comanche power endured with little serious challenge before, during, and after the Mexican-American war. Joining fellow historians Brian De Lay and Pekka Hamalainen, Krischer restores the Comanche to their rightful place as the most powerful entity in Texas during the 1830s and 1840s. Her work suggests that US historians must rewrite their lectures on the Mexican-American War to include another, much more dominant imperial rival to American regional pretensions.

Moreover, her research suggests that the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo (ending hostilities between Mexico and the United States) was not an end, but the real beginning of a prolonged struggle for imperial control of the American Southwest. Finally, her work offers a powerful argument for inclusion of American Indian history as American history – one simply cannot accurately understand the Mexican-American war and the contest for the Southwest without putting Native American actors at the center.

References Adelman, Jeremy and Stephen Aron. ―From Borderlands to Borders: Empires, Nation-States, and the Peoples in between North American History.‖ The American Historical Review, Vol. 104, No. 3 (1999): 814-841.

Anzaldua, Gloria. Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza. Aunt Lute Books, 2007.

DeLay, Brian. ―Independent Indians and the U.S. Mexican War.‖ The American Historical Review, Vol. 112, No. 3 (2007): 35-68.

DeLay, Brian. War of a Thousand Deserts: Indian Raids and the U.S.Mexican War. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008.

Hamalainen, Pekka. The Comanche Empire. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008.

White, Richard. The Middle Ground: Indians, Empires, and Republics in the Great Lakes Region, 1650-1815. Cambridge University Press: New York, 1991.

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Texans in Comancheria

Texans in Comancheria: Imperial Rivalry on the Southern Plains, 1836-1848 Elana Krischer History Major: Class of 2011 In the years leading up to the Mexican-American War, Mexico became economically and politically weak as it won independence from Spain. Because of Comanche raiding, internal debt, and government inefficiency, Mexico could not be called an empire at this time. Before the war, the United States also lacked power along what is now the Texas-Mexico border. Sparse settlement and weak economic and political connections left the United States without much actual power in the region. By examining letters from local and national officials, treaties, and speeches, and taking into account local diplomacy and regional violence, it is clear that the Comanche empire held power on the ground prior to the Mexican-American War. While the Comanche empire was a non-state empire without formal European-style borders, Comanche political and economic hegemony was recognized by local settlers and officials in the region. Despite the national pretensions of the United States, the Comanche were the dominant power in what is now the American Southwest.

In his inaugural address in 1845, President James K. Polk argued for the annexation of Texas in the following words: The title of numerous Indian tribes to vast tracts of country has been exitnguished; new states have been admitted into the Union; new territories have been created and our jurisdiction and laws extended over them. As our population has expanded, the Union has been cemented and strengthened. As our boundaries have been enlarged and our agricultural population has been spread over a large surface, our federative system has acquired additional strength and security. 1 However, two years later, two months after the American victory at Veracruz and just months before America won the Mexican-American War, private citizens had to negotiate a treaty directly with the 1

James K. Polk. Inaugural Address March 4, 1845. Miller Center of Public Affairs.

University of Virginia.

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Comanche. The Meusebach-Comanche Treaty, the only private treaty signed by settlers and an American Indian tribe in the Southwest to be recognized by the federal government, ensured protection for German settlers surveying and settling within Comancheria from Comanche violence.2 While at the national level, Polk argued that the acquisition and governing of Texas by the United States was an inevitable, simple task, local leaders knew that to prevent more devastating violence, they had to accommodate the Comanche. The United States, for all Polk‘s rhetoric, could not suppress the power of the Comanche empire and was not the power to be reckoned with in Texas.

Due to the widespread belief that the conflict over control of Texas represented a conflict between traditional European-style nationstates, Mexico has always been seen as America‘s imperial rivalry and American Indians those caught in between these two empires.

However, on the ground, the Comanche were America‘s imperial rivalry and settlers in Texas were those caught between this rivalry.

Borderlands historians have acknowledged the power of American Indians on imperial peripheries, but hold to the idea that imperial nation-states somehow defined the boundaries of the American Southwest. Additionally, historians like Jeremy Adelman and Stephen Aron have recently portrayed American Indians as reactors rather than actors, yet the Comanche often shaped events and provoked political reactions at the local and even national levels.3 Because these historians have tried to define ―borderland‖ relations in terms of European-style empires, they have completely disregarded non-state actors who actually dictated economic, military, and social relations on the ground.

Those living in Texas and the surrounding areas knew that settlerComanche relations were far more important than American-settler relations in terms of survival.

By looking at letters, speeches, and treaties and taking into account violence, diplomacy, and perceptions at both the local and national levels, one can conclude that the Comanche were the most powerful empire in the region. Letters between political officials at both the local and national levels show how the misunderstandings of 2

Otto W. Tetzlaff, "Meusebach-Comanche Treaty," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/mgm01), accessed April 24, 2011.

Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

3 Jeremy Adelman and Stephen Aron. ―From Borderlands to Borders: Empires, NationStates, and the Peoples in between North American History.‖ The American Historical Review, Vol. 104, No. 3 (1999): 814-841.

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power relations on the ground were intentional on the part of local leaders who wanted to become a part of the United States‘ expansionist goals. This helped to create the Texas myth, which made the United States look all powerful in a time of great imperial rivalry. However, Texas leaders and settlers would have agreed to almost anything for protection against the Comanche, flattering and misleading United States leaders to save their property.

Eurocentric definitions of empire, like European-drawn borders, greatly limits what historians know and are willing to believe about regions like the American Southwest. Just because these borders existed on a national map as a description of territorial ambition did not mean they mattered to groups like the Comanche who crossed them at their own will and controlled the movement of others in the area. Due to the misunderstanding of power relations far from the national center of the United States and the projection of modern borders and political relationships onto the past, the annexation of Texas today seems inevitable. But until the United States brought a large number of regular troops to the region at the start of the Mexican-American War and later, large amounts of settlers and their property, no one could have protected settlers from the Comanche except the Comanche themselves.

Historians of the American Southwest, specifically of the time period between the Texas Revolution and the Mexican-American War, have been too narrow in their interpretations of power relations in the region from 1836-1848. Borderlands historians have tried to simplify history to fit a definition which only has relevance when used with a European-created map. Other historians, while more inclusive in terms of American Indians, have focused only on violence. Others have been too narrow in their studies by only examining one group of people in the region and their identities and still others have too narrowly focused on a specific event. But one must not project modern notions of borderlands retrospectively. By analyzing issues of violence, diplomacy, economic power, and actual control on the ground, one can better understand the extremely turbulent and complicated geopolitical relations during this time. Doing so will help to show Comanche spheres of influence, making it easier to see the Comanche as an empire.

Historians like Jeremy Adelman, Stephen Aron, and Bradley J. Parker have attempted to define borderlands to help understand relations or processes that occurred in these regions. However, trying to define borderlands or frontiers as peripheries of expanding and College of Saint Rose

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intersecting national empires, no matter the geographic region, allows individuals to disregard the study of local power relations. This is especially true with relations involving American Indians who were non-state actors. In trying to promote an analytic framework that included Indians as participants, many historians have allowed for a Eurocentric history to replace the history of power relations on the ground and impose inevitability on the creation of a European-defined border. But these borderlands only seem to have meaning in today‘s context because while those borders now exist, the ―borderlands‖ separating nation-states only existed on maps that flattered national pretensions.

Bradley Parker, offering a comparative treatment of borderlands in terms of other empires, explains that borderland situations are always more complicated than can fit into one definition.

However, he defined borderlands as ―regions around or between political or cultural entities where geographic, political, demographic, cultural and economic circumstances or processes may interact to create borders of frontiers.‖ 4 This definition still points to the inevitability of the creation of a border and leaves out those who were not a part of the empires that eventually would have terrestrial borders.

Jeremy Adelman and Stephen Aron, while trying to include American Indians in their case studies of borderlands, were very limited by their definitions of the terms of borderlands theory and ended up essentially leaving American Indians out of the analysis altogether. To them, a frontier was ―a meeting place of peoples in which geographic and cultural borders were not clearly defined,‖ while borderlands were ―the contested boundaries between colonial domains.‖5 Again, by using this narrow definition of borderlands, Adelman and Aron pointed to the inevitability of a border and made linear an extremely complicated history. Because these definitions of borderlands foreground imperial competition between two European empires, control of power on the ground is ignored, leaving the Comanche without space to be an empire.

Even those who look at local power relations sometimes fall into this analytic trap. Andres Resendez, while focusing more on relations at the local level in Texas, still framed his argument around Bradley J. Parker. ―Toward an Understanding of Borderland Processes.‖ American Antiquity, Vol. 71, No. 1 (2006):77-100, 80.

5 Jeremy Adelman and Stephen Aron. ―From Borderlands to Borders: Empires, NationStates, and the Peoples in between North American History.‖ The American Historical Review, Vol. 104, No. 3 (1999):814-841, 815.

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the imperial rivalry of the United States and Mexico. Resendez argued that market and state ―conditioned the identity choices of frontier residents in certain fundamental ways.‖ 6 To Resendez, for those living in Texas, Mexican or Anglo-American would then be the only choices of identity. Framing a study around identity, however, limits his study because it suggests the people living in Texas were only left with two voluntary choices. Because Resendez‘s identities are ―national,‖ again there is no intellectual room for the Comanche to be an empire.

Analyzing the history of this region and time period through violence can often lead to a victimization of American Indians. Gary Clayton Anderson, in The Conquest of Texas: Ethnic Cleansing in the Promised Land, argues that Texans carried out a systematic war against American Indians in the region for control over land. 7 To say this, though, is to say that violence in the area was completely under the control of Anglo Texans. Anderson even goes as far as to say that the Texas government had ―control‖ over the lands while American Indians had ―claims.‖ However, his book does focus on conflicts between Texans and American Indians rather than relations at the national level. This book can be helpful in understanding TexanComanche interactions, but it still gives an incomplete view of the history of Texas because he focuses on Texas Rangers as agents of nation-building and does not portray the Comanche as even a powerful indigenous group.

In Violence Over the Land, Ned Blackhawk argues that ―[t]he narrative of American history…has failed to gauge the violence that remade much of the continent before U.S. expansion.‖8 While using violence as a lens is sometimes the only way to understand Angloindigenous relations, using only violence can often portray American Indians as simply reactors rather than actors themselves or, alternately, play into damaging racist stereotypes of bloodthirstiness. Blackhawk also mainly focuses on Utes rather than Comanche, making it difficult to see the Comanche as an empire. While Blackhawk does argue that various Plains tribes were able to adapt to the violence, he argues that this new systematic, destructive violence was triggered by European imperialism brought by the Spanish and later Americans, making these 6

Andres Resendez. Changing National Identities at the Frontier: Texas and New Mexico, 1800-1850. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), 3.

7 Gary Clayton Anderson. The Conquest of Texas: Ethnic Cleansing in the Promised Land, 1820-1875. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2005), 7.

8 Ned Blackhawk. Violence Over the Land: Indians and Empires in the Early American West. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2006), 1.

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Elana Krischer adaptations reactions rather than actions.9 This would make Comanche raiding seem a reaction, rather than an intentional action meant to expand the Comanche empire. Violence is very important to the study of American Indian history and can be very helpful when trying to discredit the Texas myth in terms of who actually controlled Texas.

However, studying violence alone can leave the history incomplete because the Comanche were often original actors who shaped diplomatic relations and political discourse.

Brian DeLay also demonstrates the danger of showing Indian agency solely through their use of violence. In War of a Thousand Deserts, DeLay focuses too much attention on Comanche raiding.

DeLay argues that ―the bloody interethnic violence that preceded and continued throughout the U.S.-Mexican War influenced the course and outcome of that war and, by extension, helped precipitate its manifold long-term consequences for all the continent‘s people.‖10 While his work is extremely important in showing the power of the Comanche empire, he frames his study around one specific event, the MexicanAmerican War. His book does show how Mexico did not resemble an empire right before the war, but this again frames the history around a Mexican-American rivalry rather than around the two most powerful groups in the region, the Comanche and Americans. Also in this book, Anglo-Americans enter the picture with a professional army; the weakness and contingency of 1830s Texas settlements is never explored. By starting the story so late, DeLay misses other types of power the Comanche had prior to the actual outbreak of a formal war and interethnic violence is the over determined result. Because this book focused around the war and violence, it is difficult to see the diplomatic agency held by the Comanche and how that shaped relations at the local level.

Because the Comanche empire lacked parallel institutions to the United States, imagining the Comanche as an empire is still difficult for many. However, the Comanche empire had an economic structure rather than a political one, allowing easier, if not better, domination over a region where control over resources was most important. As non-state actors, the Comanche ―were aimed at expanding…access to hunting grounds, trading outlets, tributary gift, and slaves‖ while the United States focused on claims to territory, even 9

Blackhawk, 9.

Brian DeLay. War of a Thousand Deserts: Indian Raids and the U.S.-Mexican War. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008.), xv.

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Texans in Comancheria if there was no actual political control or a settler population. 11 Because of the differences in the aims of each empire in the years leading up to the Mexican-American War, the two empires existed simultaneously in the region, leaving the U.S. apparently in control of the land but giving the Comanche the edge on the ground.

Because the Comanche empire was largely an economic one, violence and diplomacy furthered economic gains in a vast system of trade networks. As Pekka Hamalainen argues, ―commerce and kinship helped build and maintain peace, but so too did power, coercion, and dependence.‖12 Because of their large numbers and military power, the Comanche dominated these trade networks, thus controlling all other actors, whether Mexican, American or American Indian. Their regional hegemony allowed the Comanche to easily acquire ―guns, metal and corn,‖ resources necessary for empire-building and perpetuating control over the flow of goods.13 The Comanche thus had the ability to regulate commerce and movement in the vast region in ways Mexicans and Americans could not. This left settlers in Texas caught in between these far-reaching trade networks, buffeted by alternating currents of violence and diplomatic appeasement necessary to accommodate the Comanche.

Settlers in Texas did not recognize non-state actors as being successful imperialists because the Comanche lacked the same institutions that characterized nation-state empires like the United States. Therefore, they described Comanche power in different terms.

In negotiations and treaties, the Comanche often pushed for a boundary recognizing their territory. However, settlers in Texas tried to avoid boundary negotiations at all costs because they realized the recognition of a Comanche border was an actual threat to their hopes of annexation.14 While boundary negotiations were postponed until an empire strong enough to deter the Comanche arrived, Texas leaders shrewdly realized they needed to accommodate the Comanche in order to stay in a favorable position with one of the most powerful empires in the region.15 Thus, Texas officials recognized the actual control of and claims to Comanche land and tacitly respected Comanche sovereignty.

11

Pekka Hamalainen. The Comanche Empire. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008.), 142.

12 Hamalainen, 168.

13 Hamalainen, 168.

14 Thomas W. Kavanagh. The Comanches: A History 1706-1875. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1996.), 255.

15 Anderson, 211.

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While informal borders were never officially recognized, the fact that negotiations were even taking place indicates that leaders in Texas recognized that the Comanche indeed controlled the territory they claimed.

Peace with the Comanche was the topic of Sam Houston‘s inaugural address to Congress in Texas in 1836. He suggested that Texas ―[a]bstain on our part from aggression, establish commerce with the different tribes, supply their useful and necessary wants, maintain even handed justice with them, and natural reason will teach them the utility of our friendship.‖16 These tactics reflect the weak position of Texans relative to the most dominant group in the region at the time. If the settlers and leaders in Texas had not attempted to abstain from aggression, devastating violence would have ensued and large losses for Texas would have been inevitable. Because the Comanche continued to raid Mexico after many broken treaties, leaders and settlers in Texas knew that in order to avoid more violence, they would have to sign and enforce treaties without threatening the Comanche empire.

In 1836, in the wake of a devastating wave of raids, President of Texas David G. Burnet wrote to M.B. Menard about upcoming peace negotiations. Burnet wrote, ―I must enjoin it upon you to avoid with great caution entering into any Specific treaty relating to boundaries…‖17 and advised Menard to lie to the Comanche by telling them that Texas was too busy with its own affairs to properly negotiate an agreement about ―lands adequate for their wants…fully granted for their exclusive use.‖18 This statement may not have been a lie. By stalling, Texan leaders could wait until they had the support of the United States in negotiating treaties with the Comanche. However, the Comanche were not so easily set aside. In May 1836, one of the most destructive Comanche raids in Texas history occurred. Hundreds of Comanches came to Parker‘s Fort in May of 1836 and waved a white flag to show they were peaceful and would like to negotiate a treaty.

This maneuver was simply a trick and hundreds of Comanches raided

Sam Houston. ―Sam Houston to the Texas Congress Inaugural Address, October 22, 1836.‖ Texas State Library and Archives Commission. www.tsl.state.tx.us/exhibits/indian/early/houston-speeches.html.

17 David G. Burnet. ―David G. Burnet to M.B. Menard, March 19, 1836.‖ Texas State Library and Archives Commission. http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/exhibits/indian/early/burnet1836-1.html.

18 Burnet to Menard.

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Texans in Comancheria the Fort, killing many settlers and taking many more as captives. 19 Comanche power was real and diplomatic opportunities missed carried grave consequences for Texans.

This violence continued throughout the rest of the decade and in a letter written in 1838 from Secretary of State Robert Irion to Sam Houston, it became clear that the most significant struggle for control was between the Comanche and the United States. Again, leaders in Texas chose to be hesitant about creating a border for Comancheria as this would threaten any further movements of settlers in Texas and the lands Texans hoped might be annexed by the United States. The Comanche knew that the settlers had an eye on their land and the Texas government knew that the Comanche claimed ―the finest country in Texas lying on the waters of the Colorado, extending as low down as the upper line of Bastrop county where surveyors are now operating.

They have resolved to kill all the surveyors found within the territory which they consider theirs.‖20 Texan leaders agreed to ―conclude the most favorable treaty practicable, without indicating the precise limits of the territory which will be secured to them; assuring them at the same time, that this Government has no disposition to injure or take from them any rights which they may possess.‖ 21 In reality, however, Texas was incapable of injuring or taking anything from the Comanche. If a settler crossed into Comanche controlled territory, the Comanche would kill him. In fact, Texan leaders‘ hesitation to enter negotiations may indicate their awareness that they had nothing to bargain with.

As relations in the area evolved and U.S. forces grew more robust, the Comanche realized that a malleable border was also in their interest. In 1845 Thomas G. Western, superintendant of Indian affairs, wrote to three Indian agents about creating a permanent boundary line for Comanche territory. He noted that the Comanche now did not want to negotiate a permanent line, in keeping with their larger imperial ambitions. Because negotiations overwhelmingly favored them, however, the Comanche agreed to an expansive boundary situated

19

Rupert Norval Richardson. The Comanche Barrier to South Plains Settlement. (Austin: Eakin Press, 1996.), 40.

20 Robert Irion. ―Secretary of State Robert Irion to Sam Houston, 1838.‖ Texas State Library and Archives Commission. www.tsl.state.tx.us/exhibits/indians/early/irion-18381.html.

21 Irion.

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Elana Krischer along a ―line of trading houses.‖22 Their position at this boundary would allow the Comanche to maintain control over their territory while still being close enough to trading posts so that their economic empire would remain interconnected.

Similarly, in 1847, in a letter from Robert S. Neighbors, the Federal Indian Agent for the Comanche, to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs wrote of a temporary line designating Comanche territory which settlers were not to cross without permission.23 The policing of this line at a time when leaders in Texas thought settler-Indian hostilities were getting out of hand became a main concern for local officials. These local leaders knew that to prevent a war with the Comanche, a firm line was necessary. While federal officials were never consulted about a permanent line designating Comanche territory, and would have found such an agreement detrimental to their imperial ambitions in the Southwest, local leaders who lived very near the Comanche and often came in contact with them knew that to protect settlers in Texas, this line would have to be created and enforced.

Just one month later, J. Pinckney Henderson, the Governor of Texas in a letter to Robert S. Neighbors acknowledged that Texan settlers were attempting to settle above the temporary line designating Comanche territory. To maintain intercultural peace during the Mexican-American War, Polk stationed American troops on the line to ensure that Comanche territory was being recognized and respected. 24 After the creation of the line, settlers became a nuisance as they tried to cross the line to settle in Comancheria but, as Governor Henderson noted, ―No white persons would risk settling as far in the wilderness as the line fixed upon, if the United States troops were not on that line to protect them.‖25 Texan leaders recognized the authority and military strength of the Comanche and to protect the settlers, this line was created and enforced with the help of a regular army.

Thomas G. Western. ―Thomas G. Western to J.C. Neill, Edwin Morehouse, and Thomas Smith September 8, 1845.‖ Texas State Library and Archives Commission. www.tsl.state.tx.us/exhibits/indian/war/western-1845-2.html.

23 Robert S. Neighbors. Communication from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and Other Documents, in Relation to the Indians in Texas. 30th Congress, 1st session. June 15, 1848., 9.

24 J. Pinckney Henderson. Commissioner of Indian Affairs,11.

25 Neighbors. Commissioner of Indian Affairs,11.

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One year later, Neighbors referred to the growing problem of recognizing Comanche territory as a ―crisis.‖ 26 Governor Henderson and those working for the Indian agency all agreed that line had to be adhered to if devastating violence was to be avoided. Because Texas was too weak to act on its own when it came to matters of American Indian territory, leaders in Texas had to wait for the United States to come in and solve the problem. Because the Comanche were an empire, it would take an empire to deal with them.

Clearly, even by the end of the Mexican-American War, Comanche land claims had not been ―extinguished‖ and were far from being solved. The debate over a Comanche border was never resolved.

One the one hand, individuals in Texas who had avoided dealing with the issue until the United States could become involved believed that because the land in Texas ―belonged‖ to the United States, only they should have control over it. On the other hand, individuals in Texas who strived for peace with the Comanche were aware that the only way this matter was to be resolved was to recognize their territory. 27 These individuals knew that United States power was far from legitimate in the region and if they wanted to live a peaceful life in Texas, it was the Comanche they needed to accommodate.

Even as late as 1847, toward the end of the MexicanAmerican War, just two years after Polk had spoken of the consolidation of power for the United States, settlers in Texas were still negotiating treaties recognizing the authority of the Comanche in the region. In 1847, a German group purchased land within Comanche territory. The purchase was completed before any surveyors could be sent out. Because these German surveyors knew that the Comanche were a dangerous tribe, the surveyors were militarily organized.

However, to avoid a war, Indian agent R.S. Neighbors, who was friendly with the Comanche, oversaw the signing of a treaty. 28 In the treaty, the Comanche had to promise not to ―molest‖ the settlers and even ―protect‖ them.29 Incoming settlers gave monetary presents to the Comanche, showing that the Europeans signing the treaty recognized that the Comanche controlled this territory. While the Comanche did not share private, European concepts of land ownership, because of their authority in the region everyone knew that the Comanche were 26

Neighbors. Commissioner of Indian Affairs ,22.

Kavanagh, 302.

Kavanagh, 304.

29 Meusbach-Comanche Treaty.

27 28

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the appropriate negotiating party, not the United States or even Texas.

The federal government acknowledged as much when it ratified this treaty, the only privately negotiated treaty to be so endorsed by Congress.

Even though it was clear that control of Texas was in the hands of the Comanche, when leaders at the Texas level were corresponding with leaders or agents of the United States, local officials tried to make Texas look like it had authority in the region.

Texas leaders wanted to make Texas look stronger so it would seem a valuable partner in America‘s expansionist goals, but it is clear that these leaders knew that the Comanche could not be subdued by Texas alone. These leaders knew they needed the help of another empire to survive in order to further their own interests in the region, and turned to the U.S. for assistance.

In a speech given in Kentucky in 1836, Stephen Austin, then Commissioner to the United States for the Republic of Texas, explained the reasons why settlers would take the difficult journey to Texas, only to face even more hardships. He said, ―a few years back Texas was a wilderness, the home of the uncivilized and wandering Comanche…who waged constant warfare against the Spanish settlements…In order to restrain these savages and bring them into subjection, the government opened Texas for settlement.‖30 This statement was patently untrue, yet Austin hoped to persuade the United States to come into the region and alleviate the all too real danger posed by the Comanche empire. He made a point of playing up Texan allegiance to the United States and playing down the Comanche threat: The fact is, we had such guaranteed; for, in the first place the government bound itself to protect us by the mere act of admitting us as citizens, on the general and long established principle, even in the dark ages, that protection and allegiance are reciprocal-a principle which in this enlightened age has been extended much further; for its received interpretation now is, that the object of government is the well being, security, and happiness of the governed. 31

S.F. Austin. ―Address of the Honorable S.F. Austin, Delivered at Louisville, Kentucky,March 7, 1836.‖ The Avalon Project. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/texind01.asp.

31 Austin.

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Showing allegiance to the United States meant eventual protection from the Comanche, whose violence and control in the region were truly a threat to settlers in Texas.

The same veiled pleas for help were still being used eleven years later, after Texas annexation by the United States had been agreed upon. In a letter to the Federal Indian Agent to the Comanche, R.S. Neighbors, Secretary of State of Texas David G. Burnet attempted to make Texas look stronger than the Comanche: The spread of our population will, in a very few years, so crowd upon the Camanches‘ ancient hunting grounds as will compel them either to recede westward, or to resist by arms a progression which is perfectly irresistible to their feeble powers. The result of such an issue must be their entire and absolute extermination, which, by the way, will not be effected without much disaster and bloodshed on our part.32 However, Burnet went on to discuss the power of the United States and how only they could extinguish Comanche land claims and carry out their removal. Burnet even went as far as to call the authority of Texas ―insulated and defective.‖33 These contradictory statements, all within two paragraphs of each other, make it clear that Texas would never be able to handle Comanche power themselves. Only with the help of an empire equal in strength to that of the Comanche could Comanche power diminish. Especially interesting was that all of these concerns were amidst the back drop of the Mexican-American War, a time when one would think all power and resources would be devoted to fighting this supposed imperial war. However, because of Comanche dominance, protection of Texan settlers became an equally pressing issue.

Violence often comes to mind with the image of the American Indian, but often this image is also connected with eventual defeat or savagery. Because of this, violence becomes a reaction to settler encroachment in which American Indians are simply secondary actors.

In the case of the Comanche, however, violence was a means to expand access and gain control over resources necessary for Comanche David G. Burnet. ―Extract from a letter of David G. Burnet, Esq. addressed to Major R.S. Neighbors, special Indian agent.‖ Rice Digital Scholarship Archive. scholarship.rice.edu/jsp/xml/1911/27072/1/ 33 Burnet to Neighbors.

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hegemony. The Comanche systematically carried this out. Thus, Comanche raiders were essentially agents of nation-building for the economically based Comanche empire. Also, Comanche raiding into Mexico ensured that the already weakened Mexican Republic could not become an imperial threat to the United States. This was evident from not only the institutions used to protect Texans against Comanche violence, like the Texas Rangers, but because never did a settler in Texas write to an official about fears of a Mexican attack.

Comanche violence never ceased to be an issue for leaders in Texas until long after the Mexican-American War. As early as the 1820s, Texas used Rangers to protect settlers in Texas from Comanche violence.34 In 1836, Sam Houston hired other tribes of American Indians in addition to these Texas Rangers to protect those living in Texas. In a letter to Lenee, a Chief of a Shawnee village, he wrote, ―The object in getting you and your warriors to ranger there is to prevent the Wild Indians from stealing Horses and murdering people on the frontier…Comanche Pawnees and Keechi have all been in the habit of stealing Horses and will continue to do it until they are stopped. They are Bad people and must be watched.‖35 Because the issue of Comanche violence was so important to leaders in Texas, additional measures were taken to help prevent more Comanche depredations. Had the Comanche not been such a threat, these measures, which used much of the time and resources of the republic of Texas, would not have been necessary.

The large number and loose political organization of the Comanche made protecting settlers in Texas even more of a challenge.36 In 1837, the estimate for the Comanche population was around 19,000.37 Even as late as 1850, the population of Texas was still only around 212, 000.38 These numbers, combined with access to abundant amounts of horses and weapons and a population that was greatly spread out rather than settled in one place, meant that the Comanche could easily dominate the region. This domination was 34

Carl Waldman. Atlas of the North American Indian. (New York: Facts on File, 1985.), 151.

35 Sam Houston. ―Houston authorizes Shawnee Rangers, 1836.‖ Texas State Library and Archives Commission. http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/exhibits/indian/early/shawnee-rangers2.html.

36 Morris W. Foster. Being Comanche: A Social History of an American Indian Community. (Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 1991.), 55.

37 Foster, 179.

38 ―Resident Population and Apportionment of the U.S. House of Representatives.‖ U.S. Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/dmd/www/resapport/states/texas.pdf.

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Texans in Comancheria possible because ―individuals cooperated so effectively within and across these diffuse organizational units to forge consensus and act on public goals…supported by networks of blood, affine, and fictive kinship.‖39 This strength was evident when in 1838 Colonel Moore came upon a Comanche encampment. The battle was bloodier and more drawn out that the Colonel originally expected. Even after the battle had been going on all night, ―the enraged savages from above came pouring down in such numbers as to threaten the annihilation of their assailants. Retreat became a necessity, demanding the utmost courage and strictest discipline.‖40 This destruction was because of only one band of Comanches.

In 1840, in a letter to Colonel Moore, J.H. Kerr again showed how powerful just one group of Comanche could be, especially in conjunction with other tribes: ―A large party of Indians Comanches Cherokees & others have surrounded Victoria [.]… [M]any of the citizens have been killed and all the horses taken…We ask for assistance and that too speedily, for without an immediate reinforcement the whole country will be laid desolate…We are scarce of powder and lead.‖41 Comanche violence was a real threat to settlers in Texas every day. Just one Comanche raid could destroy an entire town.

Leaders in Texas were aware it would take an empire as strong as the Comanche to protect their settlers from this systematic violence.

Similarly, in an address on frontier defense, then President of Texas Mirabeau B. Lamar differed greatly from what Stephen Austin had said three years earlier in his speech in Kentucky: The fierce and perfidious savages are waging upon our exposed and defenseless inhabitants, an unprovoked and cruel warfare, masacreing [sic] the women and children, and threatening the whole line of our unprotected borders with speedy desolation. All that a brave and energetic people could achieve for their own safety has been nobly done. They have met their enemies with unflinching hearts and have borne their trials and reverses with a fortitude equalled [sic] only by their Brian DeLay.‖Independent Indians and the U.S.-Mexican War.‖ The American Historical Review, Vol. 112, No. 3 (2007).

40 John Moore. ―John Moore‘s Defeat on the San Saba, 1838.‖ Sons of DeWitt Colony Texas. http://www.tamu.edu/faculty/ccbn/dewitt/indiantales.htm#peachcreek.

41 J.H. Kerr. ―J.H. Kerr to John H. Moore, 1840.‖ Texas State Library and Archives Commission. http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/exhibits/presidents/lamar/jh_kerr_aug9_1840_1.html.

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heroism. But their population, thinned by repeated and continued losses, are now no longer able to sustain themselves against the overwhelming numbers by which they are surrounded; and if immediate relief be not extended , they will be compelled to break up their settlements, and seek security in our more populous counties…The emergency is pressing.

Delay is death.42 Clearly, Comanche violence was one of the largest threats to Texas in the period before the Mexican-American War. Because Lamar was addressing citizens in Texas and not individuals representing the Federal government, he was able to speak freely of how threatening the Comanche were to settlement in Texas.

The threat of Comanche violence was realized more and more often in the years leading up to the Mexican-American War. The devastation brought on by Comanche raiding not only allowed the Comanche to control Texas, but weakened Mexico to the point of actually changing the course of the Mexican-American War.43 According to Brian DeLay, Comanche raiding had ―claimed thousands of lives, ruined critical sectors of northern Mexico‘s economy, stalled the north‘s demographic growth, [and] depopulated much of its vast countryside…[N]orthern Mexicans were singularly unprepared to resist the U.S. Army in 1846 or sustain a significant insurgency against occupation forces.‖44 The Comanche were able to simultaneously expand their economic empire while destroying another possible imperial rival in the region. This left the United States and the Comanche to vie over land claims as their imperial goals began to overlap.

The political disarray and financial crisis left after Mexico won independence from Spain made it impossible for Mexico to fulfill its imperial prospects. The Comanche, with economic control over resources and military might that added to Mexico‘s weaknesses, became the only imperial rival of the United States in the Southern Plains between 1836 and 1848. While the United States did not recognize the Comanche as an empire because of its lack of a traditional colonial framework, leaders and settlers in Texas were well Mirabeau Lamar. ―Mirabeau Lamar address on frontier defense, 1839.‖ Texas State Library and Archives Commission. http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/exhibits/presidents/lamar/m_lamar_feb28_1839_1.html.

43 DeLay, ―Independent Indians and the U.S.-Mexican War.‖ 44 DeLay, ―Independent Indians and the U.S.-Mexican War.‖ 42

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aware of the threat the Comanche posed to settlement and the burgeoning trade networks that were appearing in what is today the southwestern United States. The knowledge of this threat became clear through the use of treaties favoring Comanche demands, recognition of Comancheria, violence against settlers, and the use of specific institutions to fight back against this violence.

Recognition of the Comanche empire was only possible by recognizing how superficial European claims to land were. While on a map it would seem as though European nation-states controlled much of the Southwest, other imperial activities were not carried out.

Because of their military strength and economic control of the region, the Comanche were able to impose cultural authority, exact tribute, control trade and preserve access to resources. Controlling relations on the ground rather than simply claiming land on a map allowed the Comanche the opportunity to impose their hegemony over the region.

Bibliography Secondary Sources Monographs Anderson, Gary Clayton. The Conquest of Texas: Ethnic Cleansing in the Promised Land, 1820-1875. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2005.

Blackhawk, Ned. Violence Over the Land: Indians and Empires in the Early American West. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2006.

DeLay, Brian. ―Independent Indians and the U.S. Mexican War.‖ The American Historical Review, Vol. 112, No. 3 (2007): 35-68.

DeLay, Brian. War of a Thousand Deserts: Indian Raids and the U.S.Mexican War. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008.

Foster, Morris W. Being Comanche: A Social History of an American Indian Community. Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 1991.

Hamalainen, Pekka. The Comanche Empire. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008.

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Kavanagh, Thomas W. The Comanches: A History 1706-1875.

Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1996.

Resendez, Andres. Changing National Identities at the Frontier: Texas and New Mexico, 1800-1850. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Richardson, Rupert Norval. The Comanche Barrier to South Plains Settlement. Austin: Eakin Press, 1996.

Waldman, Carl. Atlas of the North American Indian. New York: Facts on File, 1985.

Articles Adelman, Jeremy and Stephen Aron. ―From Borderlands to Borders: Empires, Nation-States, and the Peoples in between North American History.‖ The American Historical Review, Vol. 104, No. 3 (1999): 814-841.

DeLay, Brian. ―Independent Indians and the U.S. Mexican War.‖ The American Historical Review, Vol. 112, No. 3 (2007): 35-68.

Parker, Bradley J. ―Toward an Understanding of Borderland Processes.‖ American Antiquity, Vol 71, No. 1 (2006): 77-100.

Primary Sources Austin, Stephen F. ―Address of the Honorable S.F. Austin, Delivered at Louisville, Kentucky, March 7, 1836.‖ The Avalon Project. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/texind01.asp.

Accessed March 14, 2011.

Burnet, David G. ―David G. Burnet to M.B. Menard, March 19, 1836.‖ Texas State Library and Archives Commission. http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/exhibits/indian/early/burnet 18361.html. Accessed March 24, 2011.

Burnet, David G. ―Extract from a letter of David G. Burnet, Esq. addressed to Major R.S. Neighbors, special Indian agent.‖ 48

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Rice Digital Scholarship Archive. scholarship.rice.edu/jsp/xml/1911/27072/1/aa00244.tei.html#d iv1006. Accessed February 23, 2011.

Henderson, J. Pinckney. Communication from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and Other Documents, in Relation to the Indians in Texas. 30th Congress, 1st session. June 15, 1848.

Houston, Sam. ―Houston authorizes Shawnee Rangers.‖ Texas State Library and Archives Commission. http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/exhibits/indian/early/shawneerangers-2.html. Accessed March 24, 2011.

Houston, Sam. ―Sam Houston to the Texas Congress Inaugural Address, October 22, 1836.‖ Texas State Library and Archives Commission. www.tsl.state.tx.us/exhibits/indian/early/houstonspeeches.html. Accessed March 24, 2011.

Irion, Robert. ―Secretary of State Robert Irion to Sam Houston, 1838.‖ Texas State Library and Archives Commission. www.tsl.state.tx.us/exhibits/indians/early/irion-1838-1.html.

Accessed March 24, 2011.

Kerr, J.H. ―J.H. Kerr to John H. Moore, 1840.‖ Texas State Library and Archives Commission. http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/exhibits/presidents/lamar/jh_kerr_au g9_1840_1.html. Accessed March 24, 2011.

Lamar, Mirabeau B. ―Mirabeau Lamar Address on Frontier Defense, 1839.‖ Texas State Library and Archives Commission. http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ex hibits/presidents/lamar/m_lamar_feb28_1839_1.html.

Accessed February 20, 2011.

Moore, John. ―John Moore‘s Defeat on the San Saba, 1838.‖ Sons of DeWitt Colony Texas. http://www.tamu.edu/faculty/ccbn/dewitt/indiantales.htm#pea chcreek. Accessed February 20, 2011.

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Neighbors, Robert S. Communication from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and Other Documents, in Relation to the Indians in Texas. 30th Congress, 1st session. June 15, 1848 Neighbors, R.S. ―From R.S. Neighbors and W. Medill.‖ Communication from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and Other Documents, in Relation to the Indians in Texas. 30 th Congress, 1st session. June 15, 1848. Rice Digital Scholarship Archive. http://scholarship.rice.edu/jsp/xml/1911/27072/1/aa00255.tei. html. Accessed February 23, 2011.

Polk, James K. Inaugural Address March 4, 1845. Miller Center of Public Affairs. University of Virginia. Accessed February 20, 2011. ―Resident Population and Apportionment of the U.S. House of Representatives.‖ U.S. Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/dmd/www/resapport/states/texas.pdf.

Accessed April 2, 2011.

Tetzlaff, Otto W., "MEUSEBACH-COMANCHE TREATY," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/mgm01), accessed April 24, 2011. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

Western, Thomas G. ―Thomas G. Western to J.C. Neill, Edwin Morehouse, and Thomas Smith September 8, 1845.‖ Texas State Library and Archives Commission. www.tsl.state.tx.us/exhibits/indian/war/western-1845-2.html.

Accessed March 26, 2011.

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Introduction to “School Work: Alienated Labor in Marx's „Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844‟ Applied to Public Education” Angela Ledford Associate Professor of Political Science Meagan Lasky, in ―School Work: Alienated Labor in Marx's ―Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844‖ applied to Public Education,‖ makes a compelling argument in favor of a particular understanding of Marx‘s conception of alienation—a central idea in Marx‘s thinking about exploitation and a lynchpin for eliminating oppression. Lasky defends a more linguistically and contextuallyinformed conception of alienation that appropriately foregrounds labor.

She then turns to compulsory public education as a central site for inculcating hegemony by cultivating and normalizing alienation. She concludes with a set of important prescriptions for how public education could be a site of resistance and emancipation.

Lasky‘s argument adds to an important and emerging body of scholarly literature on education and radical social change. It is also a timely contribution given our current political distortions and grave economic disparities.

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School Work: Alienated Labor in Marx's “Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844” Applied to Public Education Meagan M. Lasky Social Studies: Adolescence Education Major; Class of 2011 This paper seeks to prove that an accurately-emphasized interpretation of Marx’s theory of alienation derived from the “Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844” (i.e., one which attributes the impacts alienation has to alienation from product and activity with as much effect as self- and social-alienation) provides more evident interpretations of how alienation manifests itself in compulsory public schools. It is concerned with seeking prescriptions for the public education system, providing solutions to persistent problems in schools such as the coalescence of student in-school and out-of-school literacies, the apparentness of knowledge use-value, standardized testing and related curriculum restraints, and delinquency and discipline.

The definition that recent scholarship has developed of alienated labor is a misinformed one. It is a confusion that stems from both linguistic and interpretive issues, which have been upheld consistently in research throughout the 20th, and into the 21st, century.

This misconception results from reading Marx as being more closely aligned with Hegel than he actually was. The result of this misreading leads to a conception of alienation as self-alienation, rather than alienated labor as a distinct manifestation of alienation, which results in self-alienation, as Marx intended. This yields a distorted, humanistic application of the way that alienated labor is utilized in state institutions, such as compulsory public education. An accuratelyemphasized interpretation of Marx‘s theory of alienation from the ―Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844‖ (i.e., one which attributes the impacts alienation has to alienation from product and activity with as much effect as self- and social-alienation) provides more evident interpretations of how alienation manifests itself in compulsory public schools. This view is particularly Marxian because it is useful for both elucidating the substructure/superstructure binary and for rendering prescriptions for ameliorating the society's current state of affairs—therefore, it is practical, and practicality was essential to Marx. This paper is concerned with seeking prescriptions for the 52

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public education system, and this more practical understanding provides solutions to persistent problems in schools, such as the coalescence of student in-school and out-of-school literacy and the problem of knowledge use-value, standardized testing and related curriculum restraints, and delinquency and discipline.

I. Marx's Theory of Alienated Labor and Later Interpretations Marx sees alienation as the driving force in a market economy. When the mode of production is capitalism, and that mode of production determines the civil arrangements according to his theory of historical materialism, the means of production—or capital—becomes concentrated in the hands of the historically-privileged classes (through private property, inheritance, and surplus value). Those who do not own capital become dependent upon those who do in order to obtain means of subsistence (food, housing, clothing, etc.) by putting the capital to use. This is a large class of people, larger than the owning class—this is the working class. They subject themselves to the few owners for the purpose of earning a wage from the owner(s) in order to maintain their existence. In this process antagonism between the classes of worker and owner are born (a civil arrangement), and the labor of the worker becomes alienated in four ways. The first is that the more the worker produces, the further he is removed from his product.

The worker loses autonomy over what he produces to the will of another, and to keep his place in production he must increase his productivity by another man's direction. As his productivity increases, so does the value of the product, but not the level of wage. Therefore, man works more but can afford less, losing more and more control over what it is he produces along the way. 1 The second manifestation of alienation is the worker from his activity, meaning primarily that it falls under the will and direction of another, much like the product. This manifestation of alienation means that the work done by the worker in no way affirms his or her sense of self.2 This is because of the third alienation, which is the worker becoming alienated from the ―species-being.‖3 What Marx proposes makes a human being different from other animals is that human activity has conscious self-fulfillment as its end. The fourth 1

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Marx-Engels Reader, Second Edition. (W. W. Norton & Company, 1978), 72.

2 Ibid., 74.

3 Ibid., 75.

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manifestation of alienation occurs because the worker's activity and productivity is owned by another person. The worker is alienated from fellow humans because of the antagonisms that the market economy introduces into the civil society.4 These antagonisms include ownership, of capital and of work product and activity, as well as competition among workers.

The misinformation in the scholarship on Marx's theory of alienation results from the distinctions between these four manifestations of alienation. It also stems from the term alienation, its various nuances in German language, and Marx's distinctly divergent use of the term in the ―Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844.‖ The first cause of confusion when interpreting Marx's theory of alienation is the way he employs linguistics. Being a German scholar, Marx has three variations of alienation at his disposal. One loosely means ―estrangement, becoming foreign,‖ one loosely translates to ―loss of certain attributes,‖ and a last one loosely refers to legal matters, ―to transfer rights to another.‖ 5 In Hegel, whose work Marx is often responding to, the ―becoming foreign‖ and ―loss of certain attributes‖ terminology were used in distinctly separate ways.

Marx chose, I believe deliberately, to combine the understandings of the terms into a much more complicated, interconnected usage. Some scholars see this as a ―serious confusion‖ 6 on Marx's part, but their arguments are not convincing enough to qualify as irrefutable, which would be necessary to debunk the linguistic choice of a highlyregarded scholar such as Marx.

One such scholar is Richard Schacht. In his Alienation, he argues that Marx was a ―passionate humanist,‖ much like Hegel. 7 He goes so far as to claim Marx's ideology on alienation is derived directly from Hegel's Philosophy of Right.8 However, Marx wrote his ―Contribution to the Critique on Hegel's Philosophy of Right” the previous year, and in his analysis of this particular piece by Hegel, found himself departing completely from Hegel, turning the dialectal conception on its head and developing his theory of historical materialism.9 Given these circumstances, I cannot agree with Schacht's 4

Ibid., 77.

Adam Schaff, Alienation as a Social Phenomenon (Pergamon Press, 1980), 58, 59.

6 Richard Schacht, Alienation (Doubleday, 1970), 119.

7 Ibid., 73.

8 Ibid., 81.

9 Marx and Engels, The Marx-Engels Reader, 16.

5

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position on the origins of Marx's ideology. With this basis, he goes on to frame the argument that Marx critiques Hegel unnecessarily10 because Marx's conception of alienation is not a deliberate combination of existing conceptions, but a restatement of the process of the eventuality of those existing Hegelian conceptions.11 He cites work, such as Sartre, which derides Marx for being ―overly simplistic,‖ 12 and feels himself as though Marx doesn't prove the theory well. 13 This interpretation of Marx's theory, however, is based on Schacht's exposure to (and, I'd argue, predilection towards) the humanistic critical theory popular in 1970s. This can be inferred from the way he refers to art as a site of unalienated labor.14 This is consistent with the scholarship of the Frankfurt School, their contemporaries, and their students.

Ignace Feuerlicht's Alienation: From the Past to the Future falls victim to many of the same deficiencies as Schacht. He misinterprets Marx's multiple manifestations of alienation as being ends-based rather than simultaneous. He says, for Marx, ―Man does not see and enjoy his own product as the result of his potential. This alienation from his work dehumanizes him and alienates him from himself, from nature, and from his fellow men.‖ 15 This exemplifies an inappropriately-emphasized conception of alienation. To further this point, Feuerlicht's misinterpretation of the concept is brought up again when he writes, ―self-alienation or work alienation,‖16 placing the selfalienation ahead of what in Marx's theory it is subsequent to, and also posing them as distinct rather than interconnected. He does not find Marx's theory of alienation particularly compelling (calling it ―not explained by Marx on logical or psychological grounds‖), 17 and even goes so far as to accuse Marx of plagiarizing much of his writing on the theory from one of his contemporaries, Hess.18 While Feuerlicht's interpretation of Marx's conception of alienation is misguided because of linguistic hang-ups similar to those Schacht grapples with, 19 he does 10

Schacht, Alienation, 78.

Ibid., 100.

Ibid., 237.

13 Ibid., 100.

14 Ibid., 88, 100.

15 Ignace Feuerlicht, Alienation: From the Past to the Future (Greenwood Press, 1978), 27.

16 Ibid., 137.

17 Ibid., 131.

18 Ibid., 27.

19 Ibid., 3.

11 12

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offer some valuable perspectives on the role of schools in the superstructure and how alienation manifests itself in the school context, the subject of the latter part of this paper.

In an attempt to give alienation some definitive characteristics amidst this flood of scholarship, many empirical studies were undertaken in the mid-20th century. In order to make some comparative sense of this added empirical scholarship, Joseph and Elizabeth Mouledoux published Alienation: A Critical Evaluation of Selected Empirical Studies in 1975. They included the oft-cited works of Melvin Seeman, Dwight Dean, and G. Nettler.20 The problematic aspects of this study are not so much what the authors themselves have to say but with the sample of scale-based studies available to them for critique.

The evaluation of the empirical studies is summed up by the authors when they state, ―What has struck us most forcefully are not the differences at that [self-oriented] level, but rather the similarities between those who accept the Marxian theory of alienation and the empiricists.‖21 What this suffices to say is that the Mouledouxs believe that the empiricists are working from a misinterpreted concept of alienation, much as Schacht and Feuerlicht do theoretically.

Leszek Kolakowski‘s Main Currents in Marxism, reprinted in 2005 with a new preface and epilogue by the author, offers an entire chapter regarding the 1844 Manuscripts and alienated labor, alluding to this author‘s appreciation for the importance of understanding alienated labor in understanding greater Marx. This appreciation is also emphasized when Kolakowski states that the manuscripts have ―come to be regarded as one of the most important sources for the evolution of Marx‘s thought.‖22 Kolakowski forwards a conception of alienated labor which demonstrates a Marxian appreciation of its insidious nature without going to the humanistic place that the previously mentioned authors have when he says, ―[Under alienated labor] the object of labour is opposed to the labor process as something alien, objectified, and independent of its producer. The more the worker assimilates nature to himself, the more he deprives himself of the means of life.‖ 23 By this he means that the more labor validates the being performing it, and provides for the species as a whole, the less likely that labor will be 20

J. C Mouledoux and E. C Mouledoux, Alienation: A Critical Evaluation of Selected Empirical Studies (Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association, 1975), 9, 29, 31.

21 Ibid., 45.

22 Leszek Kolakowski, Main Currents in Marxism (W.W. Norton and Company, 2005), 109.

23 Ibid, 114.

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to provide the laborer with means of subsistence in the capitalist economy.

Another interpretation more aligned with the language of the ―Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844‖ is that featured in Bertell Ollman's Alienation/ Marx's Conception of Man in Capitalist Society. He describes his broad conception of alienation when he defines it as ―any significant alteration in these relations [of man and nature] which diminishes the individual's role as the initiator.‖ 24 He extends this understanding to alienation from activity when he describes it as ―a break between the individual and his life activity,‖ 25 and to alienation from product when describing it as ―a break between the individual and the material world.‖26 Ollman proves that he grasps the insidiousness of the phenomenon which Marx had in mind when he writes that under alienated labor, ―[human] powers have become fewer and narrower in their application,‖ and it causes ―decrease [in] the possibilities in nature for the fulfillment of man's powers.‖ 27 Ollman's equal emphasis on the various manifestations of alienation is evident when he writes, ―Marx, by treating product alienation on par with alienated activity, wishes to stress its significance […] for understanding the worker's overall alienation.‖ 28 Like Feuerlicht's inadequately emphasized interpretation, Ollman offers some valuable extensions to the superstructure.

A similar interpretation is that forwarded by Adam Schaff's Alienation as a Social Phenomenon, written in 1980. He interprets Marx's theory in the following way: Alienation is above all the name of that relation in which man's products, including religion, ideology, the state, commodities, etc., alienate themselves in relation to man, i.e. elude his control and shape themselves into an anonymous force, alien to man, which dominates man.29 This interpretation, while it is more closely derived from the political economy, recognizes the breadth of the superstructure to which it 24

Bertell Ollman, Alienation: Marx's Conception of Man in Capitalist Society (Cambridge University Press, 1976), 133.

25 Ibid.

26 Ibid., 134.

27 Ibid., 138.

28 Ibid., 142.

29 Schaff, Alienation as a Social Phenomenon, 58.

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II. Alienated Labor in Compulsory Public Schools The choice to bring public education into my argument about alienation theory may seem out of place, but it is by intention. My application of alienation theory to public schools is derived from a matter of fact: public schools are state institutions, and therefore function as sites of inculcation of the values and processes necessary to sustain state-sanctioned capitalism. As much as we may like to hold highfalutin notions about the equalizing and liberating role of education as a practice and of schools as institutions, this is simply not the reality. This reality only further proves the insidiousness of veiled consciousness in our everyday lives. Looking at the way compulsory public schools function actually elucidates Marx‘s theory of alienation.

This process of humans feeling apart from their activity, and the product of activity no longing belonging to them, occurs in a multiplicity of ways in compulsory public schools every day. I use the term compulsory by design in my description of public schools to emphasize the alienated character of the activities that occur in and the products of activity which are rendered daily in the context of schools.

Compulsory infers deprivation of choice, which is precisely what Marx‘s conception of man‘s alienation from his product and activity implies: that choice of the product, and its productive force, is owned by another and directed by another. While it may not be wage labor in the market, alienation in compulsory public schools is equally as necessary for survival of the student as the factory worker‘s eight hours spent for a the sake of earning a wage, potentially even more so. Due to the global capitalist economy which has emerged over the course of the last few decades, a student in the United States' compulsory public education system today will rarely find work without completing the schooling process, with all of its alienated labor, and without alienating 30 31

Feuerlicht, Alienation, 33, 134.

Ibid., 79.

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him or herself well—earning the esteemed commodities of the school: course grades and standardized test scores.

An understanding of this thesis is only possible with an understanding of Marx's theory of history—historical materialism. This theory is explained very succinctly in Marx's 1846 response to Proudhon's The Philosophy of Poverty,32 entitled ―Society and Economy in History.‖ He states, ―Assume particular stages of development in production, commerce and consumption and you will have a corresponding social constitution, a corresponding organization of the family, of orders or of classes, in a word, a corresponding civil society.‖33 What this essentially means is that the course of history is determined by what is productively possible at that time. The mode of production will first determine the type of economy, and the type of economy will determine the civil configurations. This necessarily leads to Marx's conception of the relationship between the substructure, or the mode of production, and the superstructure it determines, or the state and civil society. Marx describes his conception of this relationship when in the ―Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right‖ he states, ―There can be no political state without the natural basis of the family and the artificial basis of civil society […] But the conditioned is postulated as the condition.‖34 He means that philosophers are misled in their idea that political arrangements function as the origin determining the way society will function- that first comes the constitution and the government, then comes the economic and social arrangements. Marx perceived it as the reverse, that the substructure (economic arrangements) determines the organization of social and political life, otherwise known as the superstructure.

Compulsory public schools are institutions of the superstructure, and therefore are also dictated by the mode of production and the civil arrangements which are in accord with it.

Schools, and the activity which takes place in them, as well as the products created in them, are designed according to the needs and values of the capitalist political economy. Pierre Bourdieu and Claude Passeron further elucidate this in two instances in the chapter ―The Ideological Function of the Education System,‖ in the larger work Reproduction in Education, Society, and Culture. They cite direct 32

Marx and Engels, The Marx-Engels Reader, 136.

Ibid., 137.

34 Ibid., 17.

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Meagan Lasky correlations between ―school culture and culture of the dominant classes, cultural inculcation and ideological indoctrination, or pedagogic authority and political power,‖ 35 and later they say, ―the educational institution is the only one in full possession […] of the power to select and train.‖36 Jean Lave and Ray McDermott commenced in a most useful study of alienated labor in schools in 2002. Using Marx's own notation technique of re-writing paragraphs, they took the section on estranged (alienated) labor in the ―Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844,‖ inserted learning where labor was once written, and rewrote the paragraphs accordingly. This article provided the type of practical understanding which many other scholars' works lack. This is particularly interesting because they are educators with little experience with Marx's writings. Marxian scholars who apply the theory of alienated labor to schooling often have this same practical line of reasoning escape them. Lave and McDermott have a clear grasp of public compulsory schools as elements of the superstructure (and the grander theory of historical materialism), arguing, ―the same critique applies to the workings of both economy and education because they are two facets of the same history.‖37 Commodification in schools is a persistent issue for Lave and McDermott, which may be resolved by a practical understanding of alienated school labor, which I will return to in the last section of this paper. Their analysis of the Marx's theory results in the following understandings of the first and second manifestations of alienation. First manifestation (of product) applied to learning: This fact that expresses merely that the object which learning produces—the learner's product—confronts it as something alien, as a power independent of the learner. The product of learning is learning which is embodied in a test score or promised credential, which has become material: it is the objectification of learning. Learning's realization is its objectification. In the sphere of learning theory this realization of learning appears as a loss of realization for the learners;

35

Pierre Bourdieu and Jean Claude Passeron, Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture (SAGE, 1990), 195.

36 Ibid., 196.

37 Jean Lave and Ray McDermott, ―Estranged Labor Learning,‖ Outlines 2002, no. 1 (2002): 22.

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objectification as a loss of the object and bondage to it; appropriation as estrangement, as alienation.38 And, the second manifestation (of activity) applied to learning: How could the learner come to face the product of his activity as a stranger, were it not that in the very act of production he was estranging himself from himself? The product is after all but the summary of his productive activity...In the estrangement of the object of learning is merely summarized the estrangement, the alienation, in the activity of learning itself.39 Their thesis is that a broadened understanding of Marx's critique of political economy renders a ―devastating critique of the theories of learning in 2002.‖40 Their analysis of the first manifestation results in an elucidated understanding of the matter that what children are forced to produce in schools is given, which alludes to the presence of ―more powerful other‖41 in the compulsory public school setting.

Their analysis of the second manifestation relates to the disjuncture between what are commonly referred to as school smarts and street smarts. That, according to the extension of this translation, the lessons of school work cannot be applied to life outside the school means that it does not satisfy human need, and is therefore ―coerced, forced, and a means to satisfy needs external to it,‖42 the epitome of what Marx conceived as alienated activity. They commenced this study without concluding any real practical usage of it, though, except one. It is something similar to classroom learning based on the careful reading and broad, student- centered, and meaningful application of texts and documents Julian Williams wrote a critique of the Lave and McDermott article. The primary point of contention was over exchange value. He argues that ―knowledge is not actually a commodity‖ 43 and he goes on

38

Ibid., 35.

Ibid., 36.

40 Ibid., 21.

41 Ibid., 35.

42 Ibid., 36.

43 J. S. Williams, ―Towards a Political Economic Theory of Value in Education,‖ TLRPWP-Maths working paper (2008): 5.

39

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Meagan Lasky to conclude that the learners work is ―that of consumption.‖ 44 This is where the Williams argument falters. The breadth of research on public education institutions, while holding misinterpretations of alienated labor theory, all rightfully conclude that knowledge and educational titles function to reinforce capitalist relations, as well as functioning as a saleable commodity outside of schools in the marketplace. While it is agreeable that, as Williams says, educational products ―are not truly exchangeable commodities that can be sold to others,‖ he is taking the theory of alienated labor in too literal a way, directly contradicted by Marx's theory of historical materialism. This point is elucidated by Ollman, when he writes, ―The fetishism of commodities also applies to all spheres of alienated activity.‖45 Since Williams does not disagree about education functioning as a site of alienation, he cannot logically disagree with the nature of the production and consumption which take place in schools. Williams also raises the question of use-value of schooling knowledge. He defines use-value as a delayed interest by the student in becoming a more marketable laborer, an eventual use of their school knowledge. Instead I find enjoyment and understanding to be matters of consumption46 and this is a point to which I will return in my conclusions.

Herbert Gintis, in collaboration with Samuel Bowles, authored Schooling in Capitalist America. This book offers the most direct connections between the capitalist economy which fosters alienated labor and the public education system‘s role in recapitulating it. The authors charge other theorists and education reformers of developing solutions for education which ―flounder on an incomplete understanding of the economic system.‖ 47 In this statement a politicoeconomic rather than social understanding of alienation is encouraged.

The most provocative notion in the Gintis and Bowles piece is the implication that under a capitalist politico-economic arrangement, the primary function of the education system is to provide a skilled reserve

J. S. Williams, ―Towards a Political Economic Theory of Value in Education,‖ TLRPWP-Maths working paper (2008): 16.

45 Bertell Ollman, Alienation: Marx's Conception of Man in Capitalist Society (Cambridge University Press, 1976), 207.

46 J. S. Williams, ―Towards a Political Economic Theory of Value in Education,‖ TLRPWP-Maths working paper (2008): 14.

47 Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis, Schooling in Capitalist America: Educational Reform and the Contradictions of Economic Life (Haymarket Books, 2011), 53.

44

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labor force which allows the owning class an effective threat in their right to fire and hire.48 In another work, an article which amounts to an off-shoot of Gintis‘ thesis about the values and shortcomings of broader institutions of the 20th century welfare state, he critiques compulsory public education for de-emphasizing cognitive, skill-based learning in favor of inculcating ―subordinancy‖ and ―discipline.‖49 He too sees the alienated labor which takes place in compulsory public school. He writes: Learning (the activity) is not undertaken through the student's intrinsic interest in the process of learning, nor is he motivated through the goal of the educational process (possession of knowledge). Thus the student learns to operate efficiently in an educational environment, unmotivated by either the process or the product of his activities—in short, in an alienated educational environment in which rewards are external: grades, class standing, and the threat of failure. 50 Outside of the Lave/McDermott analogy, the Gintis article is one of the few, if not the only scholarship to adequately emphasize the importance of alienation from activity and from product in a way congruent with Marx, and integrate that with the process of compulsory public schooling, an element of the superstructure. While the conclusions he reaches are of particular relevance to this project, the empirical research which he undertook, and on which these conclusion are based, is useful for elucidating the theoretical effects of alienated labor in education, and how it unassumingly impacts society and the economy. The research tested the assumption that vocational training does not impact earning potential as much as one would expect career training to. He concludes that this is because ―proper subordinancy is a factor in grading,‖51 and ―discipline is reflected in the educational system where regularity, punctuality, and quiescence assume proportions almost absurd in relation to those ostensible goals of learning.‖52 This will be returned to shortly, in section III.

48

Ibid, 55.

H. Gintis, ―Education, Technology, and the Characteristics of Worker Productivity,‖ The American Economic Review 61, no. 2 (1971): 275, 276.

50 Ibid., 276.

51 Ibid., 275.

52 Ibid., 276.

49

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Many other thinkers have reflected on these various theories and relationships, and their importance for and impact on schools in market economies. One of the most influential was Paulo Freire. In Chapter 2 of his Pedagogy of the Oppressed, written in 1970, the influence of Marx's historical materialism is exhibited when he writes, ―The oppressed are not marginals, are not people living outside society.

They have always been inside the structure which made them beings for another.‖53 Freire also expounds upon the damaging nature of the fourth manifestation of alienation when he argues, ―only through communication can human life hold meaning.‖ 54 In this chapter, Freire analyzes the relationship between the teacher and the students, seeing it very clearly as one of oppressor and oppressed, much like the owner/worker relationship—a dialectic. He also sets out to analyze the system of education under capitalist economies. He postulates that the purpose of schooling under such historical circumstances is to make ―automatons,‖ or self-operating machines, that further the economy, and ―receive the world as passive entities‖ with the purpose of ―making them more passive still and adapt[ing] them to the world.‖ 55 He emphasizes that the role of the teacher in schools under these historical circumstances is one of ―indoctrinating them [students] to adapt to the world of oppression.‖56 He also claims that the system of education does the exact opposite of what it claims to, that ―in the name of preservation of culture and knowledge we have a system which achieves neither true knowledge nor true culture,‖ 57 resulting in a hierarchy of knowledge which is ―hollow, alienated, and alienating.‖ 58 Freire seems to recognize the Marxian distinction between alienated labor and self-alienation in this last quote—alienated labor being naturally foreign to man, the other being a process of continual further separation. This is further comprehensible when he argues, ―to alienate human-beings from their own decision making is to change them into objects.‖59 Here he acknowledges also the process of commodification, a process I will return to in the ―Persistent Issues‖ section of this paper. He recognizes in his dialectal banking model of 53

Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed (Continuum International Publishing Group, 2000), 74.

54 Ibid.

55 Ibid., 76.

56 Ibid., 78.

57 Ibid., 80.

58 Ibid., 71.

59 Ibid., 85.

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education—teacher as depositor and privileged, student as unprivileged receptacle—the societal dynamics of ownership that work in schools with knowledge the same way they do in industry with capital. His emphasis on indoctrination in this chapter is concerning, however.

While it is generally agreed upon60 that schools serve the purpose of preparing children for reproducing capitalist alienation, Freire's emphasis on cultural transmissions over those of economic expectations is problematic. In this way Freire commits the mistake of focusing on the self-alienation process that many previous and subsequent scholars give an impractical emphasis to.

Nathaniel Hickerson's 1966 book entitled Education for Alienation is of the same variety as Freire's work, with even more damaging ends. He realizes the alienated character of curriculum requirements and activities, expressed when he argues that ―children do not experience, nor can they sense, that the study of history, science, mathematics, or literature is necessary.‖ 61 He also presents an understanding of compulsory public schools as sites of training in ―saleable skills,‖62 which are generally alienated labor skills.

Hickerson, however, goes on to use this understanding for a misguided end. The bulk of the work centers on the plight of urban minority students in compulsory public schools, and Hickerson uses his understanding to reach prescriptions for how these economically underprivileged, urban, minority youth might be made into better students, and therefore gain more economic potential, through school work which is less foreign to them, so they are more receptive to schooling's capitalist economic assimilation.

When considering schools, alienation of labor (of productive activity and of product) is too often overlooked for the sake of emphasizing self-alienation. The roots of social and self-alienation are found in alienation from one's product and productive activity. While contemporary concern over schooling centers on the effects of alienation (separation from one‘s own personality and interests and the nature of the human species in working towards such ends through alienated labor, and also alienation of man from man by the competition and ownership which a system premised upon alienated 60

Michael W. Apple, Education and Power (Psychology Press, 1995); Patricia H. Hinchey, Finding freedom in the classroom (P. Lang, 1998); Bourdieu and Passeron, Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture; Henry A. Giroux, Youth in a suspect society: democracy or disposability? (Macmillan, 2009).

61 Nathaniel Hickerson, Education for Alienation (Prentice-Hall, 1966), 69.

62 Ibid., 71.

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labor imbues), the effects cannot be changed without disturbing their roots. Although students losing a sense of culture through their school activity, and competition and privilege mediating the social environment in schools are very damning phenomena—which lead to the even more damaging and concretized cultural hegemony—they are not my concern. To worry about these phenomena without analyzing their roots (as many Marxian scholars who concentrate on education, society, and state functions have too often) distracts one from the truly problematic aspects of school work, and yields no viable prescriptions for betterment. These misguided arguments are present in the work of Freire and Hickerson, as well as a breadth of other scholarship. 63 III. Issues Outside the Scope of this Undertaking, Persistent Issues Resolved through a Practical Understanding, and Conclusions There remain some issues beyond the scope of this paper, which were considered but neglected by design. They include cultural and social hegemony, the ostracizing of minorities and the working class from their home-culture in the pursuit of school success, and what scholars call cultural capital. They are interconnected, and all were neglected because they are already over-emphasized in the existing research. They are over-emphasized in the scholarship because of the misappropriation of importance of the various manifestations of alienation in existing scholarship. The ostracizing of minority and working class cultures in the quest for success is an effect of cultural hegemony in schools, but it is readily perceived because of the emphasis on the self-alienation aspects of alienation theory in literature. It is pervasive in the existing literature because selfalienation is so damaging, but this paper makes the case that these ailments may be circumvented if a practical understanding and approach to eliminating alienation of products and activity is adopted in compulsory public schools. A lengthy discussion of the construction and maintenance of cultural capital, or hierarchical knowledge and titles, and how they are fetishized—while certainly relevant to this research—would be too abstracted from the direct topic of alienated labor in education to be dealt with here A compulsory public education system which was to abandon student alienation from learning (activity), and knowledge (product) in 63

Apple, Education and Power; Hinchey, Finding freedom in the classroom; Bourdieu and Passeron, Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture; Giroux, Youth in a suspect society.

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favor of student-relevant, intrinsically-motivating processes and products has the potential to remedy at least three persistent issues in the field of education—in-school/out-of-school literacy integration and the related knowledge use-value problem, underdevelopment of critical skills, standardized testing and associated curriculum restraints, and discipline and delinquency.

The first would be the Doppelgänger predicament, oft-cited by those scholars who emphasize self-alienation over activity and product alienation.64 By this, in reference to schools, I mean the need for a student to create two selves—one for time in school, one for time out of school, each with a distinct knowledge set. If education became geared toward intrinsically-motivating activity (learning) and product (knowledge), the need for students (and teachers, in turn) to find a way to integrate in-school and out-of-school literacy would become a nonfactor. With it, the problem of students finding use-value in the knowledge acquired from school would also wither away—because what activity is commenced and knowledge is gained in school is so closely related with the relevant realm of student interest.

The second issue which stands to be resolved is the underdevelopment of critical thinking skills, as this is not—as so many would portray it—an issue of unable or unwilling students. It is endemic to the capitalist economic system. Apple maintains that ―critical capacities can challenge capital,‖ so while critical thinking skills are socially-necessary, they fall by the wayside, favoring maintaining the mode of production over the well-being of society.65 Unalienated learning inherently lends itself to fostering critical capacities when the student finds a way to integrate their personal interests with standardized curricular material.

What might this look like? This is an excellent question to ask, considering the modern U.S. public education system could not be further removed from fostering critical capacities and intrinsic motivation for the process of learning and gaining of knowledge. As an answer, I offer Minnesota New Country School, a small charter school in Henderson, Minnesota. This school's primary teaching method is project-based learning. Learning here is completely student-centered, allowing students to direct their learning process by completing a selfdeveloped project of any sort of their choosing (multimedia, research paper, performance, etc.). Every project is directed by a student64 65

Ignace Feuerlicht, Alienation: From the Past to the Future (Greenwood Press, 1978).

Michael W. Apple, Education and Power (Psychology Press, 1995), 13.

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generated, open-ended guiding question—allowing for critical, questioning capacities to be fully developed, with learned use value for life after high school, a matter of relevance. 66 Student projects are aligned to the state learning standards by their own demonstrated justification, and with the assistance of an advisory team of teachers and administrators. They complete their time in high school once a project for each learning standard is completed, presented, and approved by the advisory board.

This model provides the answer for how the problems of standardized testing could be conquered by unalienated learning.

Standards are met in a way very much internalized by the student—as opposed to the nascent proof yielded by standardized testing—and graduation rates are raised, although cohorts are harder to track.

However, cohort data is unnecessary outside of standardized testing and attached school funding. Curriculum restraints and teaching to the test become non-problems because standards are satisfied by studentdirected projects, not tests. Also, the time needed to complete work does not reflect either well or poorly on the student, and cannot be transformed through society into hierarchical privilege or disadvantage.

The last persistent problem standing to be resolved would be matters of discipline and delinquency. Discipline as an action, and delinquent as a title, are used on two levels to reproduce the capitalist system. More nascent, discipline is used to demarcate those students whose behaviors are governed by value systems different from the norm, and to allow for normative-based schools, and a normative education system as a whole. It allows the normal students to be reinforced by example, and for the students who behave otherwise to be molded into what Giroux terms ―productive and worthy members of society‖67—which it is assumed the normal students are motivated to be of their own volition. The uses of delinquency would be better served if a more lengthy discussion of hierarchical titles was possible, but since it is not, it is sufficient to state that delinquency will remain with a student into adulthood. This is either because it hinders the student from getting honest recommendations and grades based upon their content-oriented skills—schools instead evaluating student conformity to hegemonic values, or because it snowballs out of control Scott Wurdinger and Jennifer Rudolph, ―A different type of success: teaching important life skills through project based learning,‖ Improving Schools 12, no. 2 (July 1, 2009): 115 -129.

67 Henry A. Giroux, Youth in a Suspect Society: Democracy or Disposability?

(Macmillan, 2009), 28.

66

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and chases the student out of the educational community entirely, ending their experience of youth prematurely, and sending them into an adult economic situation they are not fully prepared to handle. It only leads to further labeling in adulthood, as ―slacker employees and flawed consumers.‖68 Regardless, both are used to reinforce hegemony and inculcate market-oriented values in students, as Gintis speaks of at great length. Both elements could be corrected by unalienated learning because those who end up with these labels usually do so because they have values which do not conform to the homogeneous norm set of the school. If what is of value to the student is what is put into practice and evaluated in standardized fashion, then these actions and titles cease to hold societal weight, and so too do the normative value-sets reproduced by experiences in schools.

In conclusion, an accurately-emphasized conception of Marx's theory of alienated labor applied to schools yields evidence nearimpossible to elucidate when the usual individualistic, humanistic conception of alienation as self-alienation is applied. Alienated labor in schools consists of students being deprived of intrinsic motivation for the process of learning and the aim of obtaining knowledge by contrived, market-oriented processes such as constrained curriculum, and products such as standardized tests. These, like the action of discipline and the labeling of delinquents, are used to classify students' efficiency as future workers and consumers, not to measure their content- and life-relevant cognitive skills. What can result from a reoriented public education system are students with critical capacities, who have internalized the use-value of their education when they enter the adult world, making for a much more innovative working class.

This shift, while it would be paradigmatic, could vanquish multiple persistent ills of the public education system—making it a practical adaptation, and Marxian in that it is both practical and socially just.

Works Cited Apple, Michael W. Education and Power. Psychology Press, 1995.

Bourdieu, Pierre, and Jean Claude Passeron. Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture. SAGE, 1990.

68

Ibid., 28.

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Bowles, Samuel, and Herbert Gintis. Schooling in Capitalist America: Education Reform and the Contradictions of Economic Life.

Haymarket Books, 2011.

Feuerlicht, Ignace. Alienation: From the Past to the Future.

Greenwood Press, 1978.

Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Continuum International Publishing Group, 2000.

Gintis, H. ―Education, Technology, and the Characteristics of Worker Productivity.‖ The American Economic Review 61, no. 2 (1971): 266–279.

Giroux, Henry A. Youth in a Suspect Society: Democracy or Disposability? Macmillan, 2009.

Hickerson, Nathaniel. Education for Alienation. Prentice-Hall, 1966.

Hinchey, Patricia H. Finding Freedom in the Classroom. P. Lang, 1998.

Kolakowski, Leszek. Main Currents of Marxism. W.W. Norton and Company, 2005.

Lave, Jean, and Ray McDermott. ―Estranged Labor Learning.‖ Outlines 2002, no. 1 (2002): 19-48.

Mouledoux, J. C, and E. C Mouledoux. Alienation: A Critical Evaluation of Selected Empirical Studies. Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association, 1975.

Ollman, Bertell. Alienation: Marx's Conception of Man in Capitalist Society. Cambridge University Press, 1976.

Schacht, Richard. Alienation. Doubleday, 1970.

Schaff, Adam. Alienation as a Social Phenomenon. Pergamon Press, 1980.

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Tucker, Robert, ed. The Marx-Engels Reader. Second Edition. W. W. Norton & Company, 1978.

Williams, J. S. ―Towards a Political Economic Theory of Value in Education.‖ TLRP-WP-Maths Working Paper (2008).

Wurdinger, Scott, and Jennifer Rudolph. ―A Different Type of Success: Teaching Important Life Skills Through Project Based Learning.‖ Improving Schools 12, no. 2 (July 1, 2009): 115129.

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Introduction to “A Critical Evaluation of Marxian Labor Theory of Value” Angela Ledford Associate Professor of Political Science Keith Cronin, in the article that follows, develops an important and original critique of Marx‘s Labor Theory of Value. His analysis hones in on the inconsistency in Marx‘s writing of measuring, at the macroeconomic level, a commodity‘s value based on the labor contribution while often using microeconomic evidence. Cronin points out that Marx recognized that his definition was problematic at the micro level, but he failed to adequately address this tension. Cronin also clearly and convincingly argues that Marx‘s Labor Theory of Value suffers from the same indeterminancy as the definitions he rejects.

This claim by Cronin raises an important and often neglected contention by Marx as well as the secondary literature on this topic.

The questions it raises are important for how we interpret Marx from an economic perspective, and it is terribly relevant for how we assess competing economic arrangements, especially in light of the recent and enduring economic crisis.

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A Critical Evaluation of Marxian Labor Theory of Value Keith Cronin History and Political Science Major: Class of 2012 Karl Marx's critique of capitalism inspired social organization, protests, wars, revolutions, and reactive government oppression throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Though his writings do not play the prominent role in modern politics they once did, Marx's ideas of social justice and the redistributive economics found in his transitional socialist state, along with his anticipation of capitalism's collapse, remain very relevant in our current state of economic crisis and continue to deserve our attention.

Marx built his theories on his assignment of value. Marx asserted that a commodity is only worth the labor hours it took to produce it. To explain this, Marx pointed to various exchanges that occur daily. However, when problems arise from the application of Marxian Labor Theory of Value to other microeconomic examples, economists claim that Marx only intended for his theory to apply on macroeconomic levels. This paper shows that this is an erroneous defense, as Marx used microeconomic exchanges to explain his theory and, therefore, subjected himself to microeconomic critique. The questions of exchange Marx left unanswered do not topple the theories that build off of Marxian Labor Theory of Value. These questions merely create a chip in the Marxist foundation that modern economists prefer to ignore.

No modern thinker has had such a strong and lasting effect on modern thought as Karl Marx. His writings cover topics as diverse as philosophy, ethics, religion, history, politics, and economics. These topics are intertwined and interdependent on each other to the point that it is very difficult to discuss one area of Marxist thought without also involving others. This paper attempts to isolate Marxist economic thought to some degree, with special emphasis on Marx's conception of value. Marx believed that an object is worth only the amount of labor that produced it (Labor Theory of Value). The strength of this premise supports his writings on the theft of profit and capitalism as an exploitative system (Surplus Value Theory and Exploitation Theory).

These definitions are the launching pad for his critique of developed capitalism and the capitalist class.

After a discussion of what other economists and political theorists, classical and contemporary, have to say about this facet of Marxism, I give a brief history of the nature and development of Labor College of Saint Rose

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Theory and analyze the way in which Marx used it in his economic arguments, discussing problems Marx left unaddressed. These problems weaken Marx's Labor Theory of Value. Finally, I address the ways in which Labor Theory is connected to Marx's other economic theories and his larger social philosophy as a whole. Writers on the subject rightfully recognize Marx's contribution to economics, the most important of which is his explanation of the phenomenon of falling profits. However, contemporary economists tend to explain away the inconsistencies between the larger Marxian theories and small-scale exchanges by claiming that Marx did not intend to make a statement about the prices of individual items, but the average of all manufacturing within an area. I show that this was not the case and that, because he allowed his theories to work within individual capitalist systems, he failed to adequately account for the differences between price and value of individual goods that occur during individual exchange.

I. The Formulation and Evolution of a Labor Theory of Value The question of value has haunted economists for centuries.

On the subject of Labor Theory of Value, which is the most important of Marx's economic concepts as the other theories rest on his concept of value, Donald F. Gordon interestingly categorized the different approaches of the three most important writers on the subject: Adam Smith, David Ricardo and Karl Marx. Gordon, writing in 1959, claimed that Smith's oft quoted phrases such as ―the annual labor of every nation is the fund which originally supplies it with all the necessities and conveniences of life‖ were ambiguous enough that Marxists and Ricardians used them as evidence of Smith's use of a Labor Theory of Value.1 Gordon argues that Smith took an approach to Labor Theory that was very different from the later economists. Smith asserted that the arduous nature of the labor also determined the value of an item, not just the number of labor hours. This combination of quantitative and qualitative labor was used by Ricardo but not addressed by Marx.

Ricardo tried to relate labor to actual prices instead of just ―value.‖ He believed that value was related to labor and postulated that fluctuations in labor and interest only affect actual prices no more than seven percent. Economists call this the ―93 % labor theory of value.‖ 2 Gordon's summary of Marx is inadequate for the purposes of this discussion. Instead, Robert Freedman's Marx on Economics will be used to define Marx's conception of Labor Theory. Marx measured Donald F. Gordon, ―What Was the Labor Theory of Value?‖ The American Economic Review 49, no. 2 (May 1959): 465.

2 George J. Stigler, ―Ricardo and the 93% Labor Theory of Value,‖ The American Economic Review 48, no. 3 (June 1958): 357-367.

1

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value completely independent of prices. He believed that the value of an object is determined by the number labor hours that produced it and nothing else. Prices are decided by the utility value of commodities, not labor. Marx saw these prices as relative and believed that labor was the only absolute source of value.3 Modern economist Brooks Otis asserted that Marx's theories were meant to apply only to value and not prices.

Otis even went as far as to state that it was never Marx's intention to comment on the day-to-day prices of an individual article, but to make an observation of the larger capitalist economy and the role value played.4 However, this explanation does not address Marx's own use of individual goods as examples of his theory, such as his comparison of corn and iron in volume one of his famous Das Kapital.5 In this example, he states that something exists in a certain quantity of iron that also exists in a certain quantity of corn that decides the exchange.

For Marx, this something was the quantity of labor that produced them.

Thus, x amount of labor-hours of corn can be exchanged for x amount of labor-hours in iron. It should be emphasized that Marx sees this as what should happen, not what actually happens.

What all of these theories include is a desire to attach an absolute measure of value to any good without comparing it to another.

For instance, one may say article A is worth more than article B because it required more labor to produce article A. However this does not define the value of either A or B, just their comparative values. In all three versions of Labor Theory, no standardized unit of labor-hours is presented as a way of measuring the independent value of objects.

Scott Gordon attempted another approach to Marxian economics in 1968. His article in The Journal of Political Economy entitled ―Why Does Marxian Theory of Exploitation Require a Labor Theory of Value?‖ argues that Marx's theories do not need to involve prices at all because they are macroeconomic in nature. 6 While it is generally agreed that Marx's theories are macroeconomic in nature, Scott Gordon still avoids Marx's microeconomic arguments about exchange that are part of his macroeconomic theories. Gordon does, however, give excellent mathematical equations to explain Marx's conception of the rights of ownership and capitalism as theft. 7 These equations will be used later to help explain Marxian economics.

3

Robert Freedman, ed., Marx on Economics, [New ed.]. (New York: Harcourt Brace and World, 1974), 29-32.

4 Brooks Otis, ―The Communists and the Labor Theory of Value,‖ The American Economic Review 35, no. 1 (March 1945): 134-137.

5 Robert Tucker, ed., The Marx-Engels reader, 2nd ed. (New York: Norton, 1978), 304.

6 Scott Gordon, ―Why Does Marxian Exploitation Theory Require a Labor Theory of Value?‖ The Journal of Political Economy 76, no. 1 (February 1968): 137.

7 Ibid.

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These writers, though they all contribute to our understanding of Marx, fail to address Marx's microeconomic arguments and are satisfied with ignoring Marx's use of individual exchange examples for the sake of making his arguments fit into a model. As Scott Gordon states, ―If Marx's analysis is treated entirely as a macroeconomic model of capitalism, it is not necessary to show any correspondence between particular market prices and ―values‖ measured in labor terms.‖8 I do not intend to treat Marx's theory as a macroeconomic model, but to examine the small scale workings of his Labor Theory of Value, Surplus Value Theory, and Exploitation Theory. First, a brief overview of Marxian economics is needed.

Karl Marx viewed all commodities as having some value. His attempt to define what constitutes this value led him to a labor theory of value. This states: ―that which determines the magnitude of the value of any article is the amount of labour socially necessary, or the labour time socially necessary for its production.‖9 Marx advocated that this labor be measured in time sacrificed by the worker to produce the commodity, separating himself from Adam Smith, who involved the arduousness of the labor as well. Marx's best writings on these concepts are found in volume one of Das Kapital, first published in 1867. In Das Kapital, he recognized that the only way to measure value is in the exchange of commodities. Along with the corn and iron example explained above, he also used the exchange of wheat, blacking, silk, and gold to show how the relationships between multiple exchanges reveal something common in all commodities: ―. . .a quarter of wheat is exchanged for x blacking, y silk, or z gold, &c. . .since x blacking, y silk, or z gold, &c., each represent the exchange value of one quarter of wheat, [they] must, as exchange-values, be replaceable by each other, or equal to each other.‖10 However, Marx refused to let exchangevalues set commodity-values. He stated that because exchange rates varied over time, they are ―accidental and purely relative.‖ 11 Marx wanted to define values on something more solid and absolute than exchange-values. The only other thing he saw all commodities possessing was labor. Thus, labor must be the source of all value. This conclusion formed the premise for his next two theories, Surplus Value Theory and Exploitation Theory, which employ larger economic concepts.

II. Introduction to Surplus and Exploitation 8

Ibid.

Karl Marx, ―Economic Manuscripts: Capital Vol. I - Chapter One,‖ Marxists.org, http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch01.htm#037.

10 Tucker, The Marx-Engels Reader, 304.

11 Ibid., 304.

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These next two theories involve a pivotal economic question: who has the right to the income generated from the products of labor?

This is where Scott Gordon's equations help in understanding Marx's answer to this question. Gordon's first equation is R = (L), where R represents the quantity of right to receive income and L represents quantity of labor performed. This short statement of belief holds that the more labor someone performs, the more right that person has to income generated from that labor. This is an expression of Marx's philosophy that can be applied to individual laborers. For a larger view of right to income, Gordon's second and third equations provide the answer. His second is O = l + p, where O represents net national output, l represents wages (labor), and p represents surplus value (property owners). This ―represents a simple fact that the national income under capitalism is divided between laborers and property owners.‖12 His third equation holds that O = (L). Marx believed that only the laborers had a right to the fruits of their labor (equation one).

Equation three represents Marx's ideal distribution of income – the entire national output is determined and received by those who labor.

This follows from the previous argument he makes that all value comes from labor-hours. This means that any income generated from commodities is only possible because people have labored on that commodity. They, therefore, receive all the income from their products.

Finally, equation two represents what is really happening; national output is divided between those who labor and those who do not. For Marx, this is an infringement upon the rights of those who labor to the income their labor generates. The propertied class is stealing what rightfully belongs to the working class.

As may be predicted, these conclusions form the premises of Marx's larger arguments about class struggle, distribution of capital, and his beliefs about what a just society would look like. Though these topics will not be discussed here, it is important to note that they all draw from Marx's conception of commodity value. If this conception is successfully challenged, Marx's theories that build on value may be weakened.

III. Value in Exchange Marx and free-market capitalists are in agreement as to the key to unlocking the secrets of economic activity – exchange. Marx stated that ―the valid exchange values of a given commodity express something equal [and] exchange value, generally is only the mode of expression, the phenomenal form, of something contained in it, yet Gordon, ―Why Does Marxian Exploitation Theory Require a Labor Theory of Value?‖ 138.

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Two parties exchanging commodities will have contradicting interests and must compromise to a point of mutual satisfaction. It must be noted that Marx rejected this entire system of private exchange. However, his criticism of capitalism relied on the acceptance of its basic premises to highlight the exploitative and self-destructing nature of the system.

Thus, we work within the same system that Marx did and come to compelling questions: at what price does one of the parties in a transaction draw the line and refuse to trade? When does this occur?

What would motivate a party to trade $100 for a commodity but not $99?

The answer lies in desire or, in economic terms, ―demand‖ (these terms will be used interchangeably). Demand is similar to value in two important ways. First, it is problematic to quantify demand or value independently of other variables; to assign a certain commodity x units of demand or value. Second, both demand and value only reveal themselves during actual exchange. Marx identifies this problem correctly as a problem of relativity. Both value and demand originate from people and can be as diverse as their individual creators. The problem Marx faced is the same problem any economist or entrepreneur faces when they evaluate the prospects and risks of business ventures: fitting human-created variables into mathematical equations. Other variables such as supply, profit, capital, technology, cost, and resources are capable of fitting into such equations because they can be effectively counted or measured. Any theory that attempts to quantify value runs into this problem. However, Labor Theory becomes particularly problematic when assigning value.

Marx recognized another source of potential value: use-value.

An article could have value because it contains the potential to be used by humans. Exchanges occur because one party does not possess a commodity that provides a certain type of use-value that is desired.

This party then exchanges commodities that have expendable usevalues for commodities that contain the desired use-value. Therefore, exchanges happen because of differences in commodities, not similarities. Marx hastily dismissed this in volume one of Das Kapital.

Marx was in search of something inherent in all commodities that determine exchange rate and almost ignored their use-value. He stated 13

Freedman, Marx on Economics, 31.

Von Mises, Ludwig, Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis, trans. J. Kahane (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1951), 114.

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that ―one use-value is just as good as another‖ and ―if then we leave out of consideration the use-value of a commodities, they have only one common property left, that of being products of labor.‖ 15 Marx dismissed use-value because it did not provide something common that commodities shared, ignoring that it could be differences in commodities that set exchange rates. As Karl Kautsky stated in his summary of Marx's economic doctrines: ―As use values they are only exchanged because they have different, not similar or common, natural qualities.‖16 Marx also recognizes that use-values, like exchangevalues, vary depending on the time and place of the exchange and the parties involved. Marx could not accept something so varied that was based on human input as the source of value. However, Marx and Marxian economists fail to acknowledge the varied nature of their own Labor Theory of Value.

IV. Relativity within Labor Theory of Value The beginning of Marx‘s theories comes from his desire to prescribe an absolute unit to value. He rejected use-value because it varied too much and he believed that the only similarity in all commodities was that they were produced by labor: ―As values, all commodities are only definite masses of congealed labour-time.‖17 Exchanges occur because ―the value of one commodity is to the value of any other, as the labour-time necessary for the production of the one is to that necessary for the production of the other.‖ 18 Labor is the only factor that unites all commodities and allows for ratios to be set in exchange.

Marx fails to account for serious problems within his theory, mainly the relative nature of labor. Labor hours change depending on who is laboring and how much machinery is involved. What one person is able to produce in an hour will usually be different from what another is able to produce in the same time frame. For example, an elderly farmer may labor in a field for an hour and produce three bales of hay. A second, younger farmer labors for the same amount of time and produces eight bales of hay. According to Marx, these two products should have the same value. Yet the two different market prices that these commodities would fetch cannot merely be excused by profitseeking capitalists. Here there is a quantitative difference with no qualitative difference. Use-value could offer an explanation of this but Marx has already dismissed it as a major value factor. As Kautsky 15

Tucker, The Marx-Engels Reader, 305.

Karl Kautsky, The Economic Doctrines of Karl Marx, trans. H.J. Stenning (London: A&C Black Ltd, 1925), 13.

17 Tucker, The Marx-Engels Reader, 307.

18 Ibid., 306.

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admits, ―it might seem that if the value of a commodity is determined by the time expended on production, the idler and more unskilful a man is the more value his commodity would be.‖19 The more unproductive person, under this system, would justly receive a pay for his three bales of hay that was equivalent to another farmer's pay for eight bales.

Kautsky backs out of this potential problem by stating that ―the labour we are concerned with here is not individual, but social, labour.‖20 This means that Marx is only addressing exchanges based on the average labor hours it takes to produce commodities in a society. Marx believed that when considering labor-value, only the ―average degree of skill . . . prevalent to the time‖ should be measured. 21 This may be where the economists mentioned above, particularly Scott Gordon, retreat into calling Marx's theory a macroeconomic model. However, Marx used individual economic exchanges to postulate this theory of labor value.

When microeconomic problems arise Marx falls back on ―social‖ economics. As B.M. Anderson observed, it is possible that Marx did not address this issue because ―he felt, as Adam Smith had . . . that the difference of natural talents in different men is, in reality, much less than we are aware of.'‖22 However, this belief is too broad and unsupported to allow for the dismissal of an error so great. Marx's problems with relativity in his own theory of value was never overcome in his works and weaken his larger criticism of capitalism.

V. Other Problems with Marxian Labor Theory Marx also struggled with items that have clear utility value but lack labor, the most obvious of these being land. Land can fetch a strong market price without ever being mixed with human labor.23 It is one thing for an economic theory to allow discrepancies between price and actual value. It is another thing to say an item that fetches a market price contains no actual value. Land offers an example of pure utility value. It is desired because of the possible utilities it provides: food, shelter, and raw materials to be sold or used. The price that land fetches in an open market is determined by many factors – location, quality of the soil, climate, and mineral deposits to name a few. Yet, because humans did not to create this land, it has no labor-value, only use-value.

This use-value is also subject to the wants of prospective buyers and changes depending on their desires. If, for example, a farmer wishes to purchase land with poor soil but high iron deposits, he will only be interested in the soil quality and will not be willing to pay the same 19

Kautsky, The Economic Doctrines of Karl Marx, 14.

Ibid., 14.

21 B.M. Anderson, Social Value (New York: Augustus M. Kelley, Publishers, 1966), 172.

22 Ibid.

23 Ibid., 15.

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price, say, a miner would be willing to pay. Without becoming too philosophical, the worth of land is whatever individuals perceive it to be. It embodies no absolute quantity of labor and its use-values are only determined by human perceptions, which vary immensely. Marx addressed land briefly toward the end of section one of Das Kapital. He states that land is not a commodity. 24 Marx defines a commodity as: an object outside ourselves, a thing that by its properties satisfies human wants of some sort or another. The nature of such wants, whether they spring from the stomach or from fancy makes no difference. Neither are we concerned to how the object satisfies these wants, whether directly as means of subsistence, or indirectly as the means of production. 25 Land by its nature can satisfy human desires by providing one aspect of the means of producing raw materials or food. It does not matter how land does this, it only matters that it does. Therefore, land is a commodity and Marx's rather hasty dismissal of it is unfounded. It is a commodity that does not embody human labor but can still be exchanged for commodities with different use-values. If human labor is the only thing commodities have in common and the only thing that determines exchange rates, how could land, which embodies no labor, be exchanged for things that originate from labor? Marx did not sufficiently answer this question. Though few scholars have mentioned land when critiquing Marx, they have criticized him on his general abstraction of ―labor.‖ Marx's tendency to abstract concepts like labor brought attention from scholars, most notably the late nineteenth century Marxist revisionist Eduard Bernstein. Bernstein focused on the idea of ―socially necessary labor,‖ something Marx included in Das Kapital but did not expound upon. Bernstein believed that Marx was referring to another factor that helps define value – the needs of the community.

If someone labors to create something that is no use to the community (unnecessary use-value), then that commodity is less valuable than a commodity desperately needed by the community. However the needs of the community are impossible to determine or to place a quantitative value on at any given moment. Just like exchanges, social needs are comparative. One can only say ―A is more necessary than B,‖ not ―A contains x units of social necessity.‖ This makes Marxian value a

24 25

Robert Tucker, ed., The Marx-Engels Reader, 2nd ed. (New York: Norton, 1978), 307.

Ibid., 303.

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The result was a value system that could not be practically applied to society.

VI. Implications Karl Marx's Labor Theory of Value provides the foundation on which he builds his next two economic theories. Without Surplus Value Theory and Exploitation Theory, Marx's economic analysis would have made no profound statement or real argument. It would have merely said that prices do not reflect value. Marx took Labor Value Theory to its next logical steps.

Marx W. Wartofsky calls Marx's Theory of Surplus Value the ―keystone‖ of Marxist political economy. 27 Wartofsky claims that ―without it, Marx's construction reduces to a phenomenalistic of functional relations among observers.‖28 Though Surplus Value is important, Wartofsky misses that it is merely an extension of Labor Theory from philosophical abstraction to the real workings of a wage economy. For Marx, surplus value manifests itself in both wage and trade. A factory worker who trades his labor for a daily wage cannot buy what they produced in a day with a day‘s worth of pay. This means that the employee is creating more value than he is being paid, creating surplus value for his employer after raw materials, rent, and other expenditures requiring capital are accounted for.29 Another example of surplus value is trade. Trade is based on the two things: (1) the difference in use-value (nobody trades one use-value for something with the same use-value) and (2) The quantities of use-values based on the needs of the parties involved. For this, Karl Krautsky provides an excellent example: For 90s, a merchant buys from a farmer 4 tons of potatoes which are worth 100s, and sells them to the tailor for 110s. At the end of the process, the merchant finds in his hands a larger value than was there at the beginning. But the sum total of existing values remains the same. At the beginning we had values of 100s (the farmer) plus 90s (the merchant) plus 110s

Deborah Ann Findlay, ―Edward Bernstein's Revisionist Critique of Marxist Theory and Practice,‖ Open Access Dissertations and Theses, no. 2899 (n.d.): 20, http://www.digitalcommons.mcmaster.ca/opendissertations/2899.

27 Marx W. Wartofsky, ―Karl Marx and the Outcome of Classical Marxism, or: Is Marx's Labor Theory of Value Excess Metaphysical Baggage?‖ The Journal of Philosophy 80, no. 11 (November 1983): 274.

28 Ibid., 724.

29 Tucker, The Marx-Engels Reader, 247-249.

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(the tailor) = 300s. At the end 90s (the farmer) plus 110s (the merchant) plus 100s (the tailor) = 300s.

The greater value in the hands of the merchant is therefore not derived from an increase in values, but from a diminution in the values in the hands of others. If I call this greater value surplus value, I might as well call surplus value the value which a thief steals from the pockets of another. 30 Thus, a crafty merchant is able to increase the total value he possesses at the expense of consumers. However, both of these examples of surplus value are based on value being determined by labor and the objective amount of labor hours that produced these commodities.

Marx does not consider that one of these commodities use-values may be more necessary for one party than the other. And if necessity does not also contribute to value, then how could Bernstein's social necessity contribute to value? Both Marx and Bernstein fail to resolve this.

The Theory of Surplus Value points to Marx's next step, Exploitation Theory. Kautsky hints at this in his analogy between surplus value and pick-pocketing. Exploitation Theory states that the worker is entitled to the total value of the commodity he produces.

Because, according to Surplus Value, workers must be paid less than what they produce for employers to profit, the capitalist employer is exploiting the worker; the worker is being robbed. Eugene BröhmBawerk criticized this theory as not being time-sensitive. In other words, the worker wants to be paid for what his finished product will be worth in the future, not what it is worth now. For example, if a worker labors on an engine that will take five years to produce, this theory states that, in one year the worker should be paid one-fifth of the engine‘s total value. However this is not reflective of what the product is actually worth at the end of one year. It is unlikely that one fifth of a machine will fetch one-fifth of the finished machine's value on the market.31 Thus, the worker may, indeed, be receiving what his labor produced at the moment it produced the commodity. Though these criticisms assist in understand flaws in Surplus Value and Exploitation, these two theories depend completely on a Labor Theory of Value and therefore, the weakening of the premise of Labor Theory has a greater destabilizing effect on the subsequent theories and Marxist economics and politics as a whole.

30

Karl Kautsky, The Economic Doctrines of Karl Marx, trans. H.J. Stenning (London: A&C Black Ltd, 1925), 57.

31 Robert Murphy, ―Böhm-Bawerk‘s Critique of the Exploitation Theory of Interest,‖ Ludwig von Mises Institute, http://mises.org/daily/1680.

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VII. Conclusion This paper does not discount Marx's contribution to modern thought. For his followers, he is a fresh and exciting philosopher whose writing continues to inspire new schools of thought and social analysis.

Critics have further developed their understanding of capitalism by arguing against Marx's views. The critique of Marxism in this paper does not come close to addressing Marx's greater and more influential theories like Historical Materialism or Alienated Labor. This paper merely addresses some aspects of Labor Theory of Value which Marx did not address and which scholars have not acknowledged to much extent.

The ideas of Surplus Value and Exploited Labor are Marx's core economic criticisms of the capitalist system. They provide an image of workers as slaves to crafty capitalists and merchants who increase their value by stealing value from others. Both of Surplus Value Theory and Exploitation Theory depend on Marx's Labor Theory of Value for justification. Like many economists before him, Marx recognized that the only way to judge the value of commodities is in exchange. Exchange rates reveal something common in commodities – a shared property that allows two things to be exchanged. Marx interpreted this shared property to be human labor. Though economists like Adam Smith and David Ricardo suggested at least a partial labor value theory, Marx isolated labor hours as the only factor that accurately determines value. He discarded utility-value because it is difference and quantity of utility-value that determine exchange, not similarity in utility-value. Marx also rejected desire as a determining factor in prescribing value because it was too unreliable and relative to individual wants. Marx's economic project started with the search for an absolute measure of value, not something that was subject to individual interpretation.

Marx used individual exchanges to express labor value.

Examples of exchanges in things like iron, coats, silk, gold, and wheat are used in Das Kapital to show that labor was the only thing that these commodities had in common. These small-scale exchanges are examples of microeconomics. However, when microeconomic problems arise in this Labor Theory of Value, Marx switches to claiming that his theories are meant to express ―socially necessary‖ labor or labor-hours based on averages. Economists like Scott Gordon accept this, stating that if Marx's writings are treated as macroeconomic theory, there is no need to account for differences between price and value. This view allows Marx to use microeconomic examples for a macroeconomic theory while avoiding problems that arise.

I do not accept this approach. Marx allowed his theory to be subject to microeconomic problems as soon as he used small scale 84

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exchanges to express his theories. Marx did not allow exchange-value to set value because exchange rates undergo too many changes over time and do not provide an absolute measure of value. He rejected it based on its inherent relative nature. However, the system Marx advocates contains its own relativity. Labor skill varies depending on the laborer. Two laborers will rarely be able to make the exact same quantity of a commodity in the exact same time. For Marx, it does not matter. The products these two workers produce have the same value because they embody the same number of labor-hours even if they would fetch very different prices in exchange. Marx avoids this problem by claiming that he only means ―socially necessary‖ labor, not individual labor; the average amount of labor it takes to produce x amount of a commodity is that amount's absolute value. If this is to be accepted, then the more productive laborer is not credited with producing more value, while the less productive worker is accredited with creating more value. Though he discarded exchange-value and demand as too relative to serve as absolute values, Marx does not account for the relative nature of the labor he depends on for value.

Though relativity is Labor Theory's most important inconsistency, other problems also exist. Commodities like land that contain no labor but provide utility value and fetch a market price are not accounted for. Marx merely mentions this problem and avoids it by stating that land is not a commodity. A closer application of Marx's definition of a ―commodity‖ shows that this is incorrect. Land is a commodity under Marx's own definition and is dismissed entirely too soon. Marx's mention of ―socially necessary‖ labor is another problem.

As Bernstein points out, socially necessary labor is impossible to measure exactly and is, therefore, an abstraction.

Marx's Labor Theory of Value provides the foundation for his Surplus Value Theory and Exploitation Theory. Though these theories contain their own problems such as time sensitivity as briefly discussed above, this paper focuses more on how weakening the foundation of Labor Theory subsequently weakens the rest of Marx's critique of capitalism.

Marx's theories continue to have a strong influence on the world.

However, microeconomic problems in his Labor Theory of Value often go unnoticed when his theories are summarized by economists.

Problems such as abstraction and relativity arise from Marx's desire to prescribe absolute numbers to things that are human and, therefore, inherently varied, flawed, and relative.

Sources

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Anderson, B.M. Social Value. New York: Augustus M. Kelley, Publishers, 1966.

Findlay, Deborah Ann. ―Edward Bernstein's Revisionist Critique of Marxist Theory and Practice.‖ Open Access Dissertations and Theses, no. 2899, accessed September 30, 2010, http://www.digitalcommons.mcmaster.ca/opendissertations/28 99.

Freedman, Robert, ed. Marx on Economics. [New ed.]. New York: Harcourt Brace and World, 1974.

Gordon, Donald F. ―What Was the Labor Theory of Value?‖ The American Economic Review 49, no. 2 (May 1959): 462-472.

Gordon, Scott. ―Why Does Marxian Exploitation Theory Require a Labor Theory of Value?‖ The Journal of Political Economy 76, no. 1 (February 1968): 137-140.

Kautsky, Karl. The Economic Doctrines of Karl Marx. Translated by H.J. Stenning. London: A&C Black Ltd, 1925.

Marx, Karl. ―Economic Manuscripts: Capital Vol. I - Chapter One.‖ Marxists.org, n.d., accessed September 30, 2010, http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867c1/ch01.htm#037.

Murphy, Robert. ―Böhm-Bawerk‘s Critique of the Exploitation Theory of Interest.‖ Ludwig von Mises Institute, accessed December 12, 2010, http://mises.org/daily/1680.

Otis, Brooks. ―The Communists and the Labor Theory of Value.‖ The American Economic Review 35, no. 1 (March 1945): 134-137.

Stigler, George J. ―Ricardo and the 93% Labor Theory of Value.‖ The American Economic Review 48, no. 3 (June 1958): 357-367.

Tucker, Robert, ed. The Marx-Engels Reader. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 1978.

Von Mises, Ludwig. Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis. Translated by J. Kahane. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1951.

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Wartofsky, Marx W. ―Karl Marx and the Outcome of Classical Marxism, or: Is Marx's Labor Theory of Value Excess Metaphysical Baggage?‖ The Journal of Philosophy 80, no. 11 (November 1983): 719-73.

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Introduction to “Anxiety in Upper and Lower-Level Foreign Language Classrooms: The Impacts of Anxiety and Implications for Second Language Acquisition" Erin Mitchell Associate Professor of Foreign Languages

Anxiety is an important topic in current research from the field of Applied Linguistics, because it inhibits the learner‘s intake of the target language. Research has demonstrated a very strong correlation between levels of anxiety and learners‘ test scores. However, much of this research is based on work with students in beginning foreign language classes. This leaves educators with the question of what happens as students progress in their language studies. Do students leave this anxiety behind as they learn more? Does anxiety continue to play a detrimental role? Anecdotal evidence tells many educators and students that high levels of anxiety seem to emerge at the intermediate and upper levels. This may be in part a result of the disparity of levels that are common in these classes due to factors such as study abroad experience, the inclusion heritage and native speakers, and differing rates of learning among the students. Students in the upper level classes may also begin to realize just how much time and effort they will really need to put in before being classified as fluent in their target language. The result appears to be palpable rise in anxiety levels.

Amy noticed this in her classes and began to question it. She started looking at existing research and noticed there was little that dealt with intermediate and upper level language learners. This motivated her to develop this research as a project for our Foreign Language Research Methodology class. The resulting work provides us with interesting insight into this problematic area.

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Anxiety in Upper and Lower-Level Foreign Language Classrooms: The Impacts of Anxiety and Implications for Second Language Acquisition Amy DeAngelo Class of 2011 There is a wealth of research that has been conducted to investigate the anxiety experienced by students in foreign language classes. It has been consistently demonstrated that anxiety is a significant factor in the second language acquisition process and that there are a wide range of triggers as well as consequences of this anxiety that impact the success of students in the classroom. However, there is a scarcity of research that examines anxiety as it impacts students in the latter years of their foreign language education.

Therefore, this study will compare and contrast the causes and effects of anxiety on both beginner and advanced level foreign language students at a small, private university. Furthermore, the researcher will address the implications of these results as they pertain to second language acquisition and tactics for foreign language teaching.

Albert Bandura defines anxiety as ―a state of anticipatory apprehension over possible deleterious happenings‖ (as cited in Mills, Pajares, & Herron, 2006, p.278). Based on this definition, prior research indicates that anxiety is a major factor contributing to the success of learners in foreign language classrooms. As a result, a great deal of research exists on different aspects of anxiety and how it impacts second language acquisition. However, the majority of these studies focus primarily on beginner and intermediate level students, often overlooking the fact that upper-level students experience anxiety as well (Ewald, 2007). Therefore, this study examines the triggers of anxiety as students progress from beginner-level foreign language classes to advanced foreign language classes and compares and contrasts the effects of anxiety on both categories of students.

Saville-Troike (2006) offers a definition of a second language (L2) as an additional language learned subsequent to a learner‘s native language that has been acquired from birth, also referred to as an L1.

Therefore, Second Language Acquisition refers to both the study of people learning an L2 as well as the actual process of L2 learning (Saville-Troike, 2006). These concepts and terms have been utilized in a wide variety of research studies to explore the topic of anxiety as a contributing aspect to the success of learners in foreign language classrooms.

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Highlighting the existence of anxiety as a factor in second language acquisition, Onwuegbuzie, Bailey, and Daley (1999) conducted a study concerning anxiety in the three stages of L2 learning: input, processing, and output. It was concluded that a ―small but consistent negative relationship between achievement in foreign language classes and anxiety‖ (Onwuegbuzie, et al., 1999, p. 1090) existed in all three stages. However, the study only included beginning language learners and the researchers noted that, ―including advancedlevel language students may have attenuated the relationships between the achievement and the anxiety measures‖ (Onwuegbuzie, et al., 1999, p. 1091).

Further emphasizing the presence of anxiety in foreign language classrooms, E. Horwitz, M. Horwitz, and Cope (1986) conducted research that highlights a few of the common anxieties that are experienced by many L2 students. First, the researchers found that many students tend to fear that they will not be able to comprehend all of the input that is being given to them (E. Horwitz, et al., 1986, p.

130). Furthermore, E. Horwitz, et al. (1986) concluded that ―anxious students also fear being less competent than other students or being negatively evaluated by them‖ (p. 130). The researchers also noted that many anxious students reported being afraid to make mistakes in the target language and have a fear of being corrected by their teacher (E. Horwitz, et al., 1986). Finally, this study revealed that a number of the anxious students also expressed being overwhelmed with the amount of rules associated with the grammatical element of learning a foreign language, seeming to suggest that a focus on grammar can be an overwhelming experience for L2 learners (E. Horwitz, et al., 1986).

E. Horwitz, M. Horwitz, and Cope‘s research indicates a clear pattern of anxiety that seems to be common among second language learners and coincides with conclusions from previous second language acquisition studies. However, this particular study does not discuss at what point in their education L2 learners encounter these fears. On the other hand, research conducted by Casado and Dereshiwsky (2001) delves into the concept of the progression of anxiety as a second language learner continues in their second language acquisition process. Casado and Dereshiwsky (2001) measured the anxiety level of first and second semester foreign language learners using the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS). An objective of this study was to determine whether or not the level of anxiety changed as the students progressed in their acquisition of the foreign language. In their results, the researchers noted that anxiety did not decrease from the first semester to the second and that, in fact, ―the apprehension levels seem to increase slightly during the second semester of language acquisition‖ (Casado & Dereshiwsky, 2001, p. 549). This suggests that 90

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there are new triggers of anxiety that present themselves as students continue in their foreign language education (Casado & Dereshiwsky, 2001).

Taking the research of anxiety in L2 learners further, Jennifer Ewald (2007) conducted one of the few studies that specifically addresses the anxiety of upper-level foreign language students. Ewald (2007) surveyed a group of upper-level Spanish students at one university, most of whom had declared Spanish as a major or minor.

These participants revealed that they experienced similar anxiety triggers to those discussed in many studies of lower-level second language learners and Ewald concluded that ―the language anxiety experienced by beginning and intermediate-level learners continues to be experienced in upper-level classes‖ (Ewald, 2007, p. 132).

A major discovery of this research concerns the upper-level students‘ confidence in their language ability (Ewald, 2007). Only 12 of the 21 participants reported being more comfortable with their Spanish language skills than in the past and about half of them reported that their confidence level had actually decreased from their less advanced high school courses (Ewald, 2007). Therefore, Ewald (2007) deduced that ―upper-level students feel more pressured to do well in their classes because they are surrounded by classmates whose intelligence and language proficiency are equal or superior to their own, an anxiety-producing situation‖ (p. 132).

Other research has been conducted that supports the idea that the language students‘ perceived skills in comparison to the perceived skills of the students‘ peers can have a high impact on anxiety. For instance, Sparks and Ganschow (2007) conducted a study that used the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) to determine the levels of anxiety in participating second language learners and the feasibility of the FLCAS. When the level of anxiety was compared with the students‘ language ability, Sparks and Ganschow (2007) discovered that ―students with the lowest levels of foreign language anxiety on the FLCAS exhibited the highest scores on measures of native language skill, foreign language aptitude (on the MLAT), proficiency, word decoding, and spelling…‖ (p. 278). The researchers believe that this information reveals that student perceptions of their own ability in the foreign language are a variable in measuring anxiety (Sparks & Ganschow, 2007).

Perceived ability and competition with peers are two of the reoccurring elements mentioned in second language acquisition research that affect the success of second language learners. For instance, Saville-Troike (2006) outlines a number of macrosocial factors that play a role in second language learners‘ achievement in acquisition of the target language in her text Introducing Second College of Saint Rose

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Language Acquisition. Saville-Troike (2006) acknowledges social context, social experience, relationship of L1 and L2, age, aptitude, motivation, and instruction as reasons for the varying levels of success in students learning a second language.

Saville-Troike (2006) delves deeper into each of these topics and offers definitions and examples of how they affect the acquisition of language in L2 learners. She notes that social categories such as sex, ethnicity, and economic status are included in social context and experience (Saville-Troike, 2006, p. 124). These factors can also explain why a person desires to learn an L2 and impact the identity roles that exist in both the L1 and L2 speaking communities.

Furthermore, the relationship of L1 and L2 refers to the similarities and differences between a learner‘s native language and the L2 and the possible applications of their previous knowledge of the features of their L1 that are available for the learner to utilize in acquiring the L2 (Saville-Troike, 2006, p. 177). Saville-Troike (2006) discusses age in terms of the greater ability of a younger L2 learner to achieve ―nearnative competence‖ (p. 178). She also states that aptitude refers to a learner‘s ability to actually process, identify, and memorize language patterns and elements. In addition, motivation concerns the effort that a learner puts into actively participating in their own L2 acquisition process. Finally, Saville-Troike (2006) points out that the quality and method of instruction in L2 classrooms has a strong impact on the success of the learners.

A study conducted by Yan and Horwitz (2008) analyzed macrosocial factors of language learning, much like those discussed by Saville-Troike (2006), in terms of their impact on the anxiety of students. The researchers interviewed 21 students studying English at a university in Shanghai, China. The students were chosen out of a pool of 532 applicants based on their scores on an adapted version of the FLCAS to ensure a variation in anxiety levels among the participants (Yan & Horwitz, 2008).

Yan and Horwitz (2008) highlighted a number of factors that the participants identified as playing a role in their perceived ability in learning a second language. For instance, many participants reported a belief that women have an easier time learning a language suggesting that gender can be a factor in a student‘s self-image as a learner (Yan & Horwitz, 2008). The researchers continued to highlight trends involving a comparison with peers in the foreign language classroom.

The participants highlighted ―class arrangement,‖ or the structure of the formal language learning in the classroom, as exerting pressure that results in anxiety because the successes of fellow students in the classroom makes their peers feel as though they must achieve an equal level of achievement (Yan & Horwitz, 2008). Furthermore, a majority 92

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of the participants mentioned that they possess a lower aptitude for learning a language than their peers and many of them cited a belief that their peers seemed to have ―a special gift for language learning‖ (Yan & Horwitz, 2008, 171).

After discussing the ―comparison with peers‖ factor, many of the students identified as highly anxious declared that a gap exists between them and their peers in terms of language learning abilities such as comprehension and memorization, as well as the ability to logically derive patterns of language exhibited in the L2 (Yan & Horwitz, 2008). Therefore, Yan and Horwitz (2008) noted that, ―the more anxious learners generally rated themselves as lower in ability than did people in the moderate- and low-anxiety groups‖ (p. 171) and that a comparison with peers negatively affects the foreign language anxiety of some learners.

Yan and Horwitz (2008) also discussed results relating to the impact of foreign language anxiety on other macrosocial factors of foreign language learning. For instance, the researchers discovered that ―a high level of anxiety was reported to result in less interest and lower motivation‖ (Yan & Horwitz, 2008, 172). Furthermore, anxiety reportedly affected classroom achievement in a negative manner as participants noted that they were able to perform at higher levels utilizing their L2 in informal, anxiety-free situations (Yan & Horwitz, 2008).

This research project will take all of the findings from the previously mentioned studies into account in its exploration of the anxiety levels of both upper and lower-level L2 learners and the impact of this anxiety on second language acquisition.

Research Questions: This study concentrates on two main research questions: 1. How do the triggers of anxiety differ from lower-level to upperlevel Spanish classes?

2. How does anxiety affect lower-level Spanish students as opposed to upper-level students?

Methodology: A questionnaire (Appendix A) was given to participants. The questionnaire was developed by the researcher to measure triggers of anxiety as well as the levels of anxiety that students experience in their foreign language classes. The participants were asked to anonymously rate how they relate to each statement on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). Demographic information included in the questionnaire asked participants to indicate whether they were in an Upper-level (SPA 300-400) or Lower-level (SPA 100-200) Spanish College of Saint Rose

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class, if they are native Spanish-speakers, and if Spanish is their major or concentration.

Participants (Sample Group): This study consisted of 93 undergraduate students taking Spanish classes at a small, private college. Sixty participants were elementary and intermediate level Spanish students taking 100 and 200 level Spanish courses, and 33 participants were upper-level Spanish students taking 300 and above level Spanish courses. Of the 60 lowerlevel students, 2 were native Spanish speakers and of the 33 upper-level Spanish students, 7 were native Spanish speakers. The data from the native-speaking participants was not included for the purposes of this study; therefore, there are a total of 58 lower-level students and 26 upper-level non-native Spanish-speaking students observed. All of the upper-level students had declared Spanish as a major, minor, or concentration and only 3 of the 60 lower-level students had declared Spanish as a major, minor, or concentration.

Data Analysis: After collecting the data from the questionnaire, the researcher first excluded the data from the native Spanish-speakers. Next, the researcher tallied each answer from the participants for each statement on the questionnaire. These tallies were separated by Upper- and Lower-level students. Finally, the researcher placed the data into two separate charts for each question and analyzed it statistically.

Results: Upper-level students reported similar answers to lower-level students on many of the statements concerning the triggers of anxiety.

In many of the statements about the effects of anxiety, many upperlevel students responded with similar, or in some cases lower, degrees of motivation than the lower-level students. For instance, only 7 out of 26 upper-level students and 27 out of 58 lower-level students answered ―strongly disagree‖ to statement #13: You have ever given up on an aspect of the Spanish language because it made you too nervous. Out of the 9 upper –level students who agreed with this statement, 5 of them wrote ―subjunctive,‖ unprompted, next to it on their surveys.

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Fig. 1: Responses to statement #13

Lower-Level 5%

10%

45% 40%

Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree

Upper-Level 7%

25%

25% 43%

Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree

The upper-level participants also showed a tendency to display a lower self-efficacy than the lower-level students in their L2 learning process, as is indicated in the responses to statement number 16: Your language-learning process is being held back by your anxiety. Only 3% of lower-level students agreed with this statement, and none of them reported that they ―strongly agree.‖ On the other hand, 46% of upperlevel students agreed with this statement with 14% of them admitting that they ―strongly agree.‖

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Fig. 2: Responses to statement #16

Lower-Level 3%

Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree

0%

30% 67%

Upper-Level 14%

33%

32% 21%

Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree

The disparity between the self-efficacy of these upper- and lower-level L2 students is again demonstrated in the responses given to statements 17 and 18. These state, respectively: Your confidence in your ability to accurately speak/write in Spanish decreases the more you study the language and your confidence in your ability to accurately understand/read Spanish decreases the more you study the language. In both cases, the vast majority of lower-level students disagreed with these statements and the percentage of upper-level students disagreeing was significantly smaller. The most dramatic difference between the two groups is evident in the responses to statement 17, which concerns production of the L2 rather than comprehension.

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Fig. 3: Responses to statement #17

Lower-Level 10% 0%

29% 61%

Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree

Upper-Level 8% 30% 35% 27%

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Fig. 4: Responses to statement #18

Lower-Level 7% 3%

24% 66%

Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree

Upper-Level 7%

15% 39% 39%

Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree

Visual representations of some of the more compelling differences between upper- and lower-level participants that the researcher discovered after analyzing the data can be found in Appendix B. Conclusions: These results suggest that upper-level L2 learners exhibit anxiety in their foreign language classes. Although many assume that students who have reached a higher level of study in an L2 would be less anxious about using that L2 in a classroom setting than a novice L2 learner, the results of this study suggest otherwise. In fact, the results demonstrate that many of the anxieties experienced by lower-level L2 learners continue as they progress into upper-level classes. In a number of instances, these anxieties actually get worse as a student is placed in classrooms with other L2 learners at a similar or higher level of proficiency.

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Furthermore, as illustrated by the response to statements 1 and 3, L2 learners have a tendency to compare themselves to their peers and build confidence as a learner from those around them. Therefore, if L2 learners feel that they are being out-performed by their peers in their foreign language class, they will likely feel anxiety which, as discussed

by Yan and Horwitz (2008), will often result in lower motivation and interest. From this point of view, it makes sense that the upper-level students tended to agree with statements concerning competition with peers; as students progress in their L2 learning, they will likely find themselves in classes surrounded by students possessing an equal or greater perceived ability.

The results of this study also reflect that anxiety in a foreign language class plays a role in motivation, as illustrated by the responses to statement 13 on the survey. Especially as students begin to delve into more difficult aspects of their L2 in upper-level classes, the tendency to simply give up exists if a student becomes too anxious to participate in their own learning while utilizing a specific feature of the L2.

As evident in the answers to statements 17-20, many of the upper-level L2 learners surveyed began to feel overwhelmed by the increasing difficulty in the aspects of the language they were exposed to, resulting in higher anxiety and a lower self-efficacy. Furthermore, the difference in the responses between statements 17 and 18 suggests that upper-level L2 learners are overall more anxious about their ability to produce the L2 rather than their capacity to comprehend input in their foreign language class. Statement 17 also suggests that the selfefficacy of students in their production of the L2 decreases drastically as a student is exposed to more in-depth and complex elements of the language.

In addition, participant responses to statements 19 and 20 seem to suggest a higher standard for language proficiency in upperlevel students. Many of the upper-level students who agreed that they have the ability to live in a Spanish-speaking country in statement 19 also disagreed that they are proficient Spanish-speakers in statement 20. It seems that lower-level students are more satisfied with simply communicating effectively in the L2, but that upper-level students are more anxious when they believe they have not reached a level of nearnative proficiency.

Implications: These results offer significant insight into second language acquisition in terms of foreign language teaching. Primarily, the macrosocial factors highlighted by the research of Saville-Troike (2006) and Yan & Horwitz (2008) show that there is no one best way to College of Saint Rose

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teach L2 learners. A mixture of different teaching styles and techniques would be important in reaching all students as well as minimizing the anxiety levels of the learners in the classroom.

Furthermore, foreign language teachers must understand the tendency of L2 learners to compare themselves to their peers and evaluate their own aptitude based on the perceived skills of those around them. Teachers need to combat this by creating a safe classroom environment and explaining to their students that everyone learns differently and at different paces so no one is expected to be at the same level in their language learning process. Along those lines, teachers need to be careful not to judge the ability of one student based on that of another, even in subtle and seemingly unnoticeable ways.

Specifically, teachers of upper-level L2 learners must be aware that anxiety still plays a role in the success of their students. In fact, teachers of upper-level L2 learners must find a way to use positive reinforcement and rewarding tasks to increase the self-efficacy of their students so that their confidence does not decrease as they get overwhelmed by the increasing amount of L2 knowledge they are responsible for.

Limitations: The most important limitation of this study is that it does not take into account the anxiety level of the participants as learners in general. If a student is anxious about success in other classes, especially when it comes to speaking and contributing to class discussions, it is likely that they will be more nervous in their foreign language classes. If that is the case, the anxiety that these types of students would demonstrate on a survey such as this one may not necessarily have anything to do with their foreign language class or their use of the L2.

Furthermore, the participants are all from the same school and, therefore, are all being taught by members of the same Foreign Language department. Their teachers likely have similar styles of teaching and utilize the same tactics for reducing anxiety, so it would have been ideal to survey students from other universities as well.

Also, there is a relatively small sample size in this survey and the number of lower-level students surveyed is much higher than the number of upper-level students surveyed. More participants and an equal distribution of students between the two categories may have yielded more accurate results.

Finally, the answers from question #20 were quite dramatic on the pie charts in the results section of this study, but they may have been more compelling if the participants had been provided with a clear definition of ―proficient‖ as it pertains to this research.

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References Casado, M.A., & Dereshiwsky, M.I. (2001). Foreign language anxiety of university students. The College Student Journal , 35(4), 539-551.

Ewald, J. D. (2007). Foreign language learning anxiety in upper-level classes: Involving students as researchers. Foreign Language Annals, 40(1), 122-137.

Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M.B., & Cope. J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125-132.

Mills, N., Pajares,F., & Herron, C. (2006). A reevaluation of the role of anxiety: Self-efficacy, anxiety, and their relation to reading and listening proficiency. Foreign Language Annals, 39(2), 276-295.

Onwuegbuzie, A. J., Bailey, P., & Daley, C.E. (1999). Relationships between anxiety and achievement at three stages of learning a foreign language. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 88(2), 10851093.

Saville-Troike, Muriel. (2006) Introducing second language acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Sparks, R. L. & Ganschow, L. (2007). Is the foreign language classroom anxiety scale measuring anxiety or language skills?

Foreign Language Annals, 40(2), 260-287.

Yan, J.X. & Horwitz, E.K. (2008). Learners‘ perceptions of how anxiety interacts with personal and instructional factors to influence their achievement in English: A qualitative analysis of EFL learners in China. Language Learning, 58(1), 151183.

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Appendix A Are you in an:

Upper-level Class (300 or 400 level) Lower-level Class (100 or 200 level)

Are you a native Spanish-speaker?

Is Spanish your major/concentration?

YES YES

NO NO

Please answer the following questions on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree) based on your experiences in your Spanish class.

1.

You are intimidated by your peers and often view them as competition in Spanish class.

1

2

3

4

2.

You feel like you will be ridiculed by your peers if you make a mistake while speaking in class.

1

2

3

4

3.

You feel constantly judged while in Spanish class.

1

2

3

4

4.

You feel pressured to always have the right answer.

1

2

3

4

5.

You believe you should be able to speak Spanish with little or no errors.

1

2

3

4

6.

It makes you anxious when you do not understand every word the professor says in Spanish.

1

2

3

4

7.

You are constantly nervous that the teacher is going to call on you.

1

2

3

4

8.

You are more anxious in Spanish class than in your other classes.

1

2

3

4

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9.

You feel pressured to learn every grammatical rule in the Spanish language.

1

2

3

4

10. You are scared to speak in class because you think the teacher will embarrass you by correcting you.

1

2

3

4

11. You do not speak in class because you are afraid to make mistakes.

1

2

3

4

12. You are more driven to do your homework and pay attention because you are nervous about the material.

1

2

3

4

13. You have ever given up on an aspect of the Spanish language because it made you too nervous.

1

2

3

4

14. You have ever given up on an assignment for Spanish class because it made you too nervous.

1

2

3

4

15. You feel stressed when you leave Spanish class.

1

2

3

4

16. Your language-learning process is being held back by your anxiety.

1

2

3

4

17. Your confidence in your ability to accurately speak/ write in Spanish decreases the more you study the language.

1

2

3

4

18. Your confidence in your ability to accurately

1

2

3

4

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understand/read Spanish decreases the more you study the language.

19. You are confident that, if placed in a Spanishspeaking country, you would be able to get by with your knowledge of the language.

1

2

3

4

20. You would label yourself a proficient Spanish-speaker.

1

2

3

4

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Appendix B You are intimidated by your peers and often view them as competition in Spanish Class.

Lower-Level 3%

Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree

16% 48%

33%

Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree

Upper-Level Strongly Disagree 8% 15%

46%

31%

Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree

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You feel constantly judged while in Spanish class.

Lower-Level 4% 3%

27% 66%

Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree

Upper-Level

8% 27%

19%

46%

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You believe you should be able to speak Spanish with little or no errors.

Lower-Level 5%

33% 40% 22%

Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree

Upper-Level 4% 15% 31% 50%

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You are more anxious in Spanish class than in your other classes.

Lower-Level Strongly Disagree

10%

Somewhat Disagree

42%

23%

Somewhat Agree

25%

Strongly Agree

Upper-Level

22%

30%

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26%

22%

Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree

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You do not speak in class because you are afraid to make mistakes.

Lower-Level 6%

21%

45%

28%

Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree

Upper-Level

15%

23%

15% 47%

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You have ever given up on an aspect of the Spanish language because it made you too nervous.

Lower-Level 10%

5% Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree

45% 40%

Upper-Level

7% 25% 25% 43%

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Your language-learning process is being held back by your anxiety.

Lower-Level 3% 0%

30% 67%

Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree

Upper-Level

14% 33% 32% 21%

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Your confidence in your ability to accurately speak/write in Spanish decreases the more you study the language.

Lower-Level 10% 0% Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree

29% 61%

Upper-Level

8% 30% 35% 27%

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Your confidence in your ability to accurately understand/read Spanish decreases the more you study the language.

Lower-Level 7% 3%

24% 66%

Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree

Upper-Level

15%

7%

39% 39%

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You are confident that, if placed in a Spanish-speaking country, you would be able to get by with your knowledge of the language.

Lower-Level 10%

Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree

19% 18% 53%

Upper-Level

9%

5%

47% 39%

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You would label yourself a proficient Spanish-speaker.

Lower-Level 2%

37%

37%

24%

Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree

Upper-Level 7% 18% 34% 41%

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Introduction to “Why Do Some Older Adults Show a Lack of Interest in Health Promotion Programs: The Case of the Albany Neighborhood Naturally Occurring Retirement Community” Nancy Dorr Professor of Psychology The population of adults over the age of 65 is expected to grow from 40.2 million in 2010 to 72.1 million in 2030 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Aging, 2009). This 79% increase, in conjunction with the fact that the vast majority of older adults want to stay in their own home, has led to a flurry of research and social service activity over the last ten years as initiatives to assist elders as they age in place have been growing (Bookman, 2008). Aging in place is the idea that elders stay in their homes as long as they desire and it is safe to do so. Elder care services are provided to assist seniors as needed (e.g., transportation and grocery shopping). The aging in place concept is an attractive option to seniors, who desire to stay in their homes, and to government officials, who understand the high cost of nursing home and assisted living care. On average, it costs $99,876 per year for someone to stay in a nursing home in upstate eastern New York (New York State Office of Aging, 2012). For many older adults living in nursing homes, their life savings is quickly used and 70% of nursing home residents eventually enroll in Medicaid to pay for the cost of the nursing home (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2011). Given that Medicaid costs New York State more than 1 billion dollars each week to provide healthcare to those in need (Matthews, 2012), efforts to reduce these costs while still providing quality service have been paramount in legislators‘ and many taxpayers‘ agendas.

Several models of assistance for older adults have been developed over the last 25 years to help older adults age in place.

Among these are (a) the Beacon Hill model in which older adults pay a yearly fee (e.g., $800) for the ability to pay for additional services that will help them stay in their home, (b) long term home health care programs sponsored by Medicaid in which low income older adults receive a variety of services in their home, and (c) the Naturally Occurring Retirement Community in which a specific geographic location happens to contain a high proportion of older adult residents and services are organized to assist these residents to age in place. The Naturally Occurring Retirement Community has become an attractive option because, unlike the Beacon Hill model, residents do not have to

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pay a hefty fee for the ability to obtain assistance, and unlike the Medicaid sponsored program, residents to not have to qualify for Medicaid to obtain assistance.

In the following article, Simone Westerman examined one aspect of service provided to residents of the Albany Naturally Occurring Retirement Community. As Ms. Westerman points out, many older adults have chronic health conditions which require behavioral changes to manage these conditions. Not all older adults have the requisite knowledge of the steps needed to manage their chronic health conditions. Staff at the Albany Naturally Occurring Retirement Community provides a number of health education and promotion services which are not always as well attended as they would hope. Thus, Ms. Westerman‘s study tested several explanations for this lack of involvement, with the ultimate goal of providing both scientific understanding and practical knowledge to help future health promotion programming in Albany, New York.

References Bookman, A. (2008). Innovative models of aging in place: Transforming our communities for an aging population.

Community, Work, and Family, 11, 419-438. doi: 10.1080/136688000802362334 Kaiser Family Foundation. (2011). Medicaid matters: Understanding Medicaid’s role in our health care system. Retrieved from http://www.kff.org/medicaid/upload/8165.pdf Matthews, C. (2012, February 9). Medicaid costs N.Y. $54 billion a year, but revamped program stays under cost cap. The Journal News. Retrieved from http://www.lohud.com/article/ 20120209/NEWS05/302090069/Medicaid-costs-N-Y-54billion-year-revamped-program-stays-under-cost-cap New York State Office of Aging (2012). Estimated average New York State nursing home rates. Retrieved from http://www.nyspltc.org/rates.htm U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Aging. (2009). A profile of older Americans: 2009. Retrieved from http://www.aoa.gov/aoaroot/aging_statistics/Profile/ 2009/4.aspx

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Why Do Some Older Adults Show a Lack of Interest in Health Promotion Programs: The Case of the Albany Neighborhood Naturally Occurring Retirement Community Simone Westerman Psychology Major: Class of 2012 The current study examined the extent to which a variety of psychological variables may explain the relatively low interest in health promotion programs within the population of older adult Albany Neighborhood Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NNORC) residents. The lack of interest in health programs has been an issue within this NNORC for some time. This study examined variables of trust in physician, locus of control, attitudes toward aging, and wellbeing as potential explanations for the relatively low interest in health promotion among Albany NNORC residents. One hundred and sixtythree older adults responded to a survey assessing degree of locus of control, trust in physician, attitudes toward aging, well-being, and interest in health promotion programs. Respondents checked which health programs interested them from a list of possible programs. The researcher calculated the total number of programs in which residents expressed interested. Results showed that external locus of control was significantly related to less interest in health promotion programs and that psychological growth with respect to the aging process was significantly related to more interest in such programs. Future research should examine ways to reduce older adults’ sense of external locus of control regarding their health and to increase their recognition of the way that aging fosters psychological growth.

Keywords: NORC, NNORC, older adults, aging, health, promotion, psychological According to a survey done by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), over 85% of adults who are older want to remain living in their homes as opposed to living with another family member or in a nursing home (Bayer & Harper, 2000). However, the issue of some older adults being able to live completely independently has presented itself as a problem (Alexander, 2006). Community-based programs have been developed to provide the services needed for these elder individuals to ―age in place‖ (Alexander, 2006). The term ―age in place‖ is used in association with this issue because these older adults who want to remain in their own homes need to be distinguished from their peers who choose to live in a retirement community.

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One development that has been made for older adults who wish to remain in their homes is the NORC, which is a Naturally Occurring Retirement Community. NORCs are typically a set of highrise buildings that have a higher than average population of elderly people residing there (typically more than 40% or 50%). These buildings were not constructed to house elder people like that of a retirement home, but these people, in fact, have lived there for a long time, and they wish to remain in their homes as they age (Altman, 2006). NORCs tend to be set in more urban areas such as New York City (MacLaren, Landsberg, & Schwartz, 2007).

Given that the purpose of NORCs is to help older adults age in place, they provide a number of services. Some examples of services include case management, counseling, housekeeping assistance, nursing, home delivered meals, educational/recreational programs, support groups, and exercise programs (Pine & Pine, 2002).

NNORC stands for Neighborhood Naturally Occurring Retirement Community, and therefore means that the elders living in this geographic neighborhood just happened to reside in a place where there are many others who are of the same age group, typically because they moved to the neighborhood as young adult or middle age persons and have grown older in the same home. Social service agencies have developed NNORCs to help these neighborhoods transition from a young family-oriented one to a more community-based area that reaches out and helps these people be more able and equipped to remain in their homes as they age (MacLaren et al., 2007).

Health and NORCS Healthcare is a paramount concern of the elderly population and NORCs have sought to help get more services to these residents.

Public health officials have suggested that NORCs are a perfect place to increase the health of elders (Masotti et al., 2006). The main reason for this is that residents of NORCs are conveniently located in a cluster of buildings so it is just a matter of what apartment number the health care provider goes to. For the NNORCs, although these people all live in the same neighborhood, the area this community covers is rather extensive so it takes more of a group effort to ―keep tabs‖ on everyone, so to speak. The fact still remains that older adults experience issues with their health on all levels, and many times it is difficult for them to take care of themselves because of their age as well as because of the health issues that they may have. Therefore, it has been proposed that there needs to be interventions for many of these individuals (Black, 2008). In light of these findings, many NORCs have instituted more educational services that try to promote healthy living in the older adult College of Saint Rose

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population, as well as numerous opportunities to be seen by a community nurse in their own home or an easily accessible central location (Cohen-Mansfield, Dakheel, & Frank, 2010).

The Albany NNORC New York State has been a leader in the development of NORCs compared to the rest of the country (Bookman, 2008). A majority of NORCs in New York State are downstate, but a few are upstate, including the one in Albany (MacLaren et al., 2007). The Albany NNORC is one of the few neighborhood NORCs in the state and is the first to be established in this region. It is a 2.5 square mile neighborhood located in the southwestern portion of Albany (see Figure 1). According to the 2000 Census, there are 1,937 people living in this area who are of the age of 60 and older, which is 40% of the population of that neighborhood. This neighborhood has mostly singlefamily homes.

The Albany NNORC is run by Jewish Family Services of Northeastern New York as well as many other partners in the city of Albany, such as the Institute for Community Research Training at the College of Saint Rose, Senior Services of Albany, and Saint Peter‘s Home Health Care Services. This community partnership seeks to provide many services for adults who are age 60 and older who wish to remain in their homes rather than live with other family members or live in a nursing home. Some of the services that are provided include help with grocery shopping, easy access to transportation, case management, and many opportunities for educational and recreational activities (e.g., ―Dinner and Movie‖ night and day trips). The most recent development that this NNORC has instituted is the availability of a community nurse, so the residents are now able to receive health education and preventative services right in their own homes.

The Institute for Community Research and Training (ICRT) of the College of Saint Rose has conducted various surveys of Albany NNORC residents, some of which have examined how likely these residents would be to take advantage of the health services if they were provided. Based on a random sample of NNORC residents, 91% of respondents report that they have at least one health condition (Pulice, Dorr, & Westerman, 2011). Examples of health conditions include heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes. Of those 91%, 33% of them perceived their health as either very good or excellent. That being said, an even lower percentage of people were interested in health programs such as health screenings (21%), health education (25%), exercise programs (21%), and support groups or advocacy programs (21%) (Pulice et al., 2011). There were no significant relationships found

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between the residents‘ perceived level of health and their interest in any of the health programs, meaning that there seems to be a significant amount of people in this community dealing with health conditions but they are not interested in preventative or educational assistance that is readily available to them. There has been no explanation reported as to why this phenomenon has occurred, and therefore this question is still unanswered.

Possible Explanation for Lack of Interest The primary purpose of the current study was to examine why the majority of the Albany NNORC residents are not interested in the health services that are being offered by the community. A variety of explanations were examined, ranging from personality variables (i.e., locus of control), health services beliefs (i.e., trust in physician), attitudes toward oneself (i.e., satisfaction with aging), and emotional factors (i.e., well-being).

Locus of control. Locus of control is one example of a personality variable that may explain why a majority of Albany NNORC residents fail to report an interest in health promotion. Locus of control is an individual difference measure whereby people tend toward having an internal or an external locus of control. Individuals with a more internal locus of control feel that they are personally in control of their lives, whereas those with a more external locus of control feel that one or more factors are in control of their lives (such as chance, fate, or other people). Past research has shown that having an internal locus of control is strongly related to older adults‘ tendency to engage in health behaviors such as preventative screenings (Bundek, Marks, & Richardson, 1993; Kostka & Jachimowicz, 2010).

Interestingly, past studies have found that when looking at locus of control with relation to health, on average, older adults have more of an external locus of control as compared to an internal one (Kuwahara et al., 2004). Therefore, it was hypothesized that NNORC residents who have a more external locus of control would be less interested in participating in the NNORC health programs as compared to residents with a more internal locus of control.

Trust in physician. Another candidate for why some older adults are not interested in health promotion programs is their attitudes toward their primary care physician. Past research shows that elders are more likely to trust their physicians than are younger people (Kong, Camacho, Feldman, Anderson, & Balkrishnan, 2007). This could be one reason why NNORC residents are less interested in educational and screening services provided by the NNORC. Also, elderly patients who have had a continuity in care, meaning that they have had the same College of Saint Rose

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primary care physician for a long time, have more trust in the advice that their physician gives (Bonney et al., 2009). Other studies have looked at older adults‘ trust in their physician and have found similar results in Eastern cultures, which suggests some generalizability of this trend (Witt et al., 2011). Because elders have such trust in their physician, they may believe that they don‘t need any future health education or programs. Given this, it was hypothesized that NNORC residents who have a higher in trust in their physician would be less likely to show an interest in NNORC health-related programs than would residents who have a lower in trust in their physician.

Attitudes toward aging. Other beliefs and attitudes of older adults may also produce a lack of interest in preventive health care.

One such variable is the elder‘s perception of the aging process.

Kotter-Gruhn, Kleinspehn-Ammerlahn, Gerstorf, and Smith (2009) found a strong relationship between older adults‘ attitude toward the process of aging and their mortality. Their study showed that the more negative older adults feel about the aging process, the higher rate of mortality they have. These findings are consistent with other research suggesting that the more negative people feel about their aging process, the less likely they are to live a long life (Levy & Meyers, 2005). Lou and Hu (2011) found that people‘s attitude toward the aging process has a direct effect on their health later in life because elders are more able to make healthier choices when they view aging more positively.

Extrapolating from this research to the NNORC, it may be that people who are not accepting the fact that they are aging and are less satisfied with the aging process do not want to think about health (or lack thereof). Therefore, it was hypothesized that people who do not view aging as a more natural life progression take less interest in keeping themselves healthy and thus engage in fewer primary health preventions as opposed to those who do view aging in a more positive manner.

Well-being. Given the high prevalence of depression in the elderly (Lyness et al., 2002), it is hard to imagine that emotional factors do not play a role in the lack of interest in health promotion among some elders. There has been much evidence to suggest that a large portion of elders experience depression and low well-being as a result of many factors, such as loneliness and having a primarily sedentary lifestyle (Okamoto, 2011). It is also common to find a higher prevalence of depression in the elderly who are living alone, due to their increase in responsibilities because of their lack of a companion to lighten the load (Ganatra et al., 2008). Depression, by definition, results in motivational deficits, so it would stand to reason that older adults with more depressive symptoms would be less motivated to engage in

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preventive health behavior. Therefore, it is hypothesized that older adults who are low in feelings of well-being (and hence tend toward higher depressive feelings) would be less likely to participate in health promotion programs than would people higher in well-being.

Method Participants One hundred sixty-three participants were obtained from the population of adults who are age 60 and older and are residents of the Albany NNORC. A majority of the respondents were female (87.5%).

The majority of respondents were between the ages of 65 to 84 (75%), but 7% were aged 60 to 64, and 18% were 85 and older. A majority of the sample lives alone (67%), and reported not being currently married or being a widow/widower (72%).

Procedure First, Institutional Review Board approval was obtained. Next, the surveys were distributed by including the survey in the NNORC‘s July monthly newsletter. This was mailed to approximately 1500 seniors living in the NNORC. A postage paid envelope was included in the newsletter in order for residents to mail the questionnaire back to the researchers.

Measures Participants completed self-report measures of the following constructs: locus of control, trust in physician, attitudes toward aging, well-being, and interest in health promotion programs.

The Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale (Bundek et al., 1993) was used to measure respondents‘ degree of internal or external locus of control related to health. This scale contains nine questions overall with three subscales of three questions each: internal control, powerful others control, and chance control. Each item was rated on a 4-point scale ranging from one (―Strongly disagree‖) to four (―Strongly agree‖). An example of a question from the internal control subscale is ―The main thing which affects my health is what I myself do.‖ An example of an item from the powerful others control subscale is ―Regarding my health, I can only do what my doctor tells me to do,‖ and an example of an item from the chance control subscale is ―Luck plays a big part in determining how soon I will recover from an illness.‖ Items for each subscale were arranged so that higher scores indicate a higher level of the subscale construct. The scale used within this study was taken from the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale (Walston et al., 1978), containing 18 items, 6 items for every subscale. For the sake of keeping the questionnaire at a manageable length, Bundek et al. (1993) cut down the scale to use only College of Saint Rose

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three items for each dimension. As reported by Bundek et al., the internal consistency for each dimension was moderate to good. The original scale was previously validated by Walston et al. (1978).

The Trust in Physicians Scale (Anderson & Dedrick, 1990) was used to assess the participants‘ level of trust in their primary care physician. The scale consists of 11 items. The items are rated on a 5point scale that ranges from one (―Strongly disagree‖) to five (―Strongly agree‖). An example of an item from this scale is ―My doctor is usually considerate of my needs and puts them first.‖ Scores on all items were averaged so that high scores indicate higher trust in one‘s primary care physician. The psychometric properties of this scale have been tested and good to excellent internal consistency and good test-retest reliability have been reported (Anderson & Dedrick, 1990).

Also, this scale has demonstrated good construct and predictive validity when correlated with other scales and subscales such as the Multidimensional Desire for Control (Thom, Ribisl, Stewart, & Luke, 1999). This scale is also moderately correlated with social desirability (Anderson & Dedrick, 1990; Thom et al., 1999).

The Attitudes Towards Change scale (Laidlaw et al., 2007) was used to assess respondents‘ feelings towards the aging process.

This scale contains 24 items with three subscales that measure a person‘s attitudes toward psychosocial loss, physical change, and psychological growth during the aging process. Only two subscales (15 items) were used in the study: the attitudes toward physical change subscale and the psychological growth subscale. The responses are rated on a 5-point rating scale ranging from one (“Strongly disagree”) to five (―Strongly agree”). An example of an item from the physical change subscale is ―It is important to exercise at any age,‖ and an example from the psychological growth subscale is ―As people get older they are better able to cope with life.‖ The subscales were scored by averaging relevant items; higher scores indicate a more positive attitude toward aging. Past research shows the scale to have good internal consistency (Laidlaw et al., 2007).

The WHO-Five Well-Being Scale (World Health Organization, 1998, cited in Bonsignore, Barkow, Jessen, & Heun, 2001) was used to measure overall well-being and is also commonly used as a measure of depressive symptoms (Bonsignore et al., 2001).

This scale contains five items that assess a person‘s well-being (higher scores) and depressive feelings (lower scores). The responses are measured on a 6-point rating scale ranging from zero (―At no time‖) to five (―All of the time‖). An example of an item from this scale is ―I have felt cheerful and in good spirits.‖ This scale was scored by averaging all items so that higher scores indicate higher well-being. In

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terms of psychometric properties, the WHO-Five Well-Being Scale has good internal consistency (Bech, Olsen, Kjoller, & Rasmussen, 2003) and strong evidence for validity (Bonsignore et al., 2001).

A measure of interest in health promotion and education programs was developed and included a variety of programs for the dimensions of physical health, healthy lifestyle, mental health, and vaccinations and screenings. Each dimension contained programs such as programs about arthritis and hypertension under the physical health category, fall prevention and Tai Chi under the healthy lifestyle category, humor workshops and keeping a positive attitude under the mental health category, and blood pressure screenings and flu vaccinations under the vaccination and screenings category.

Respondents were instructed to indicate the extent to which they are interested in each of these by using 4-point rating scales ranging from one (“Not at all interested”) to four (“Definitely interested”).

However, some respondents did not understand the rating scale and simply placed a checkmark by the programs that interested them.

Therefore in scoring the data, a rating scale score of 1 or 2 was used to indicate no/low interest in the topic and a score of 3 or 4 was used to indicate interest in the topic. This made it possible to use data from all participants (including those who used only checkmarks and those who answered the scale as intended). To create the composite scale, the number of items in which respondents expressed interest were summed so that higher scores indicate a higher level of interest in the programs.

Scores could range between 0 (if the respondent was not interested in any programs) and 37 (if the respondent was interested in all programs on the list).

Demographic variables that were assessed included age, sex, marital status, and living situation.

Results First, correlations among the scores on predictor variables were examined. As can be seen in Table 1, NNORC residents with a higher internal locus of control about health also have a higher perception that powerful others control their health, as well as a more positive attitude about physical change as a result of aging, a high perception of psychological growth due to aging, and a higher level of well-being. Additionally, NNORC residents who perceive that powerful others control their health also report a higher level of trust in their primary care physician. NNORC residents who have a more positive attitude toward physical change with respect to the aging process are also higher in perceptions of psychological growth due to aging, have higher trust in their primary care physician, and have a College of Saint Rose

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higher level of well-being. Those NNORC residents who have a higher perception of psychological growth with respect to aging also reported a higher level of well-being. Finally, it was found that NNORC residents who have a higher trust in their primary care physician also have a higher level of well-being.

To control for shared variance among predictor variables, a multiple regression analysis was conducted to test the hypothesis. The predictor variables that were analyzed for this analysis were the scores from all scales and subscales; the response variable was the total number of health programs in which respondents reported an interest.

As can be seen in Table 2, three variables were statistically significant predictors of interest in health promotion program: scores on the powerful others subscale and chance subscale were inversely related to interest in health programs, and scores on the psychological growth subscale were positively related to interest in health programs.

Discussion In conclusion, the study that was conducted found that older adults of the Albany NNORC who express less interest in health promotions that are offered to them have a higher external locus of control with respect to their health. Also, it was found that the more psychological growth a person from this group has with respect to their aging, the more interest they seem to have in health programming. The current data did not support a relationship between scores on either trust in physician scale or the well-being scale and the reported number of programs respondents were interested in.

These findings can be related to past literature examining the population of older adults and their interest in health. Bundek et al.

(1990) found a strong correlation between the tendency to engage in healthy behaviors and internal locus of control. Based on the findings from the current study it can be said that this population moderately supports prior research in that their lack of interest in health promotion is related to their external locus of control (rather than internal).

Psychological growth with respect to aging is defined as a more positive attitude toward the aging process. According to a study done by Kotter-Gruhn et al. (2009), elders‘ attitudes toward the aging process are directly related to their mortality, so the more positive they are about aging, the longer they will live and therefore engage in more behaviors that are positive for their health. Due to the fact that psychological growth results in a more positive attitude toward aging, this makes sense based on prior studies that those who possess this characteristic will want to engage in more healthy behaviors.

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One limitation of this study is the small sample size; unfortunately, there was a lower response rate than expected from the population of NNORC residents. Also, another limitation could be due to the fact that the type of study that was conducted was based upon self report measures, and therefore, could only depend upon those who were willing to fill out the questionnaires and send them back to the researcher. Thus, it could be said that those who were interested in the topic of health were the primary respondents to this survey which precludes conclusions about the entire population. Another limitation due to the nature of self report was the inability to measure the actual attendance of respondents to the programs that they expressed interest in. This has been reported by NNORC staff to be a significant issue within the population, where NNORC residents express interest but fail to show up when the programs are in progress.

These examples of limitations of the current study show that this area of research is ripe for future study. There is not much literature discussing the psychological or social variables that are related to an interest in health promotion among older adults. Future studies should examine ways of reducing a sense of external locus of control with regard to one‘s health within the population of older adults. These variables seem to be a significant barrier to the health of older adults, and ways of perhaps helping to decrease this way of thinking should be explored.

Future research should also examine ways of increasing healthy attitudes towards the aging process within older adults because, based on the results of this study and various other studies, it seems to be a significant predictor of engaging in healthy behaviors in the later stage of life. One way of increasing these attitudes could be the use of support groups among this population, which may provide them with a higher sense of camaraderie and feel that what they are experiencing as they age is something that all of their peers are going through as well.

Perhaps researchers could investigate the impact that these groups have on the older population of adults and how it affects their health.

Finally, the lack of attendance to these programs despite the report of interest on paper is an issue that needs to be explored. It is interesting and encouraging to report that there is a significant portion of the population of older adults who report interest in health promotion programs, but the next step in engaging in healthy behaviors is the follow through of said behaviors. The lack of attendance to these programs is a topic of this area that should be further investigated because it will help to work toward the primary goal increasing the health of the older population, and helping them to become more involved in their own health.

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This research was supported by an undergraduate summer research grant from the College of Saint Rose. Thank you to the Institute for Community Research and Training at the College of Saint Rose for providing the postage paid return envelopes and to Jewish Family Services of Northeastern New York for providing the photocopies of the survey.

Thank you to Dr. Nancy Dorr for comments on drafts of the manuscript.

References Alexander, K. J. (2006). Naturally occurring retirement communities.

Journal of Jewish Communal Services, 81, 191-193.

Altman, A. (2006). The New York NORC-Supportive Service Program. Journal of Jewish Communal Services, 81, 195-200.

Anderson, L. A., & Dedrick, R. F. (1990). Development of the Trust in Physician Scale: A measure to assess interpersonal trust in patient-physician relationships. Psychology Reports, 67, 10911100.

Bayer, A. H., & Harper, L. (2000). Fixing to stay: A national survey of housing and home modification issues. Retrieved from the American Association of Retired Persons website: http://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/il/home_mod.pdf Bech, P., Olsen, L. R., Kjoller, M., & Rasmussen, N. K. (2003).

Measuring well-being rather than the absence of distress symptoms: A comparison of the SF-36 Mental Health subscale and the WHO-Five Well-Being Scale. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 12, 85-91.

Black, K. (2008). Health and aging-in-place: Implications for community practice. Journal of Community Practice, 16, 7995. doi: 10.1080/10705420801978013 Bonney, A., Phillipson, L., Reis, S., Jones S. C., & Iverson, D. (2009).

Patients attitudes to general practice registrars: A review of the literature. Education for Primary Care, 20(5), 371-378.

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Bonsignore, M. Barkow, K., Jessen, F., & Heun, R. (2001). Validity of the five-item WHO Well-Being Index (WHO-5) in an elderly population. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 251(Suppl. 2), 11/27-11/31.

Bookman, A. (2008). Innovative models of aging in place: Transforming our communities for an aging population.

Community, Work, and Family, 11, 419-438. doi: 10.1080/136688000802362334 Bundek, N. I., Marks, G., & Richardson, J. L. (1993). Role of health locus of control beliefs in cancer screening of elderly Hispanic women. Health Psychology, 12, 193-199. doi: 0278-6133/93 Bungay, H., & Cappello, R. (2009). ‗As long as the doctor knows what they are doing:‘ Trust or ambivalence about patient information among elderly men with prostate cancer?

European Journal of Cancer Care, 18(5), 470-476. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2354.2008.00992.x Cohen-Mansfield, J., Dakheel-Ali, M., & Frank, J. K. (2010). The impact of a naturally occurring retirement communities service program in Maryland, USA. Health Promotion International, 25, 210-220. doi: 10.1093/heapro/daq006 Ganatra, H.A., Zafar, S.N., Qidwai, W., & Rozi, S. (2008). Prevalence and predictors of depression among an elderly population of Pakistan. Aging and Mental Health, 12(3), 349-356. doi: 10.1080/13607860802121068 Greenley, J. R., Greenberg, J. S., & Brown, R. (1997). Measuring quality of life: A new and practical survey instrument. Social Work, 42, 244-254. doi: 0037-8046/97 Kotter-Gruhn, D., Kleinspehn-Ammerlahn, A., Gerstorf, D., & Smith, J. (2009). Self-perceptions of aging predict mortality and change with approaching death: 16-year longitudinal results from the Berlin Aging Study. Psychology and Aging, 24, 654667. doi: 10.1037/a0016510 Kong, M. C., Camacho, F. T., Feldman, S. R., Anderson, R. T., & Balkrishnan, R. (2007). Correlates of patient satisfaction with physician visit: Differences between elderly and non-elderly College of Saint Rose

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survey respondents. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 5, 62-68. doi: 10.1186/1477-7525-5-62 Kostka, T., & Jachimowicz, V. (2010). Relationship of quality of life to dispositional optimism, health locus of control, and selfefficacy in older subjects living in different environments.

Quality of Life Research: An International of Quality of Life Aspect of Treatment, Care & Rehibilitation, 19(3), 351-361. doi: 10.1007/s11136-010-9601-0 Kuwahara, A., Nishino, Y., Ohkubo, T., Tsuji, I., Hisamichi, S., & Hosokawa, T. (2004). Reliability and validity of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale in Japan: Relationship with demographic factors and health-related behavior. The Tohoku Journal of Experimental Medicine, 203(1), 37-45.

Laidlaw, K., Power, M.J., & Schmidt, S. (2007). The attitudes to ageing questionnaire (AAQ): Development and psychometric properties. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 22(4), 367-379. doi: 10.1002/gps.1683 Levy, B. R., & Myers, L. B. (2005). Relationship between respiratory mortality and self-perceptions of aging. Psychology and Health, 20, 553-564. doi: 10.1080/14768320500066381 Lou, D., & Hu, J. (2011). Factors influencing health-related quality of life among minority elders in southwest China. Journal of Community Health Nursing, 28(3), 156-167. doi: 10.1080/07370016.2011.589238 Lyness, J. M., Caine, E. D., King, D. A., Conwell, Y., Duberstein, P. R., & Cox, C. (2002). Depressive disorders and symptoms of older primary care patients: One-year outcomes. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 10, 275-282. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajgp.10.3.275 MacLaren, C., Landsberg, G., & Schwartz, H. (2007). History, accomplishments, issues and prospects of supportive service programs in naturally occurring retirement communities in New York State: Lessons learned. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 49, 127-144. doi: 10.1300/J083v49n01_08

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Masotti, P. J., Fick, R., Johnson-Masotti, A., & MacLeod, S. (2006).

Healthy naturally occurring retirement communities: A lowcost approach to facilitating healthy aging. American Journal of Public Health, 96, 1164-1170. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2005.068262 Okamoto, K., & Harasawa, Y. (2011). Prediction of symptomatic depression by discriminant analysis in Japanese communitydwelling elderly. Archives of Gerontology & Geriatrics, 52, 177-180. doi:10.1016/j.archger.2010.03.012 Pine, P. P., & Pine, V. R. (2002). Naturally occurring retirement community-supportive service program: An example of devolution. Journal of Aging and Social Policy, 14, 181-193. doi: 10.1300/J031v14n03_10 Pulice, R.T., Dorr, N., & Westerman, S. (2011, November). Assessment of elders’ health promotion needs in a Neighborhood Naturally Occurring Retirement Community. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Public Health Assessment, Washington DC. Thom, D.H., Ribisl, K. M., Stewart A.L., & Luke D.A. (1999). Further validation and reliability testing of the trust in physician scale.

Medical Care, 37(5), 510-517. doi: 10.1097/00005650199905000-00010 Wallston, K.A., Wallston, B. S., & DeVellis, R. (1978). Development of the Multidimensional health locus of control (MHLOC) scales. Health Education Monographs, 6, 160-170.

Witt, H., Poulin, J., Ingersoll, T., & Deng, R. (2011). Older Chinese adults fear of intimacy with helping professionals. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 26(1), 71-83. doi: 10.1007/s10823-010-9132-8

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Table 1 Correlations Among Predictor Variables Predictor Variable Power Chance Physical Psych. grow.

Trust WellOthers chg. phys. being Internal .22** .02 .34** .19* .14 .16* ** Power Others ___ .08 -.03 .05 .33 -.02 Chance ___ .07 .06 -.05 .07 Physical chg. ___ .62** .25** .61** Psych. grow. ___ .13 .47** Trust phys. ___ .27** Note. Internal = Internal control subscale; Power others = Powerful others control subscale; Chance = Chance control subscale; Physical chg. = Physical change subscale; Psych. grow. = Psychological growth subscale; Trust phys. = Trust in physician. For all variables, higher scores means higher levels of the measured construct. *p < .05; **p < .01

Table 2 Results from Multiple Regression Analysis Predictor Var. b SE b β t p Internal control 2.45 1.40 .15 1.75 .08 Powerful others -2.62 0.98 -.23 -2.67 .009 Chance control -3.01 1.01 -.23 -2.97 .003 Well-being -0.86 0.90 -.09 -0.96 .34 Physical change -2.22 1.61 -.16 -1.38 .17 Psych. Growth 3.48 1.40 .24 2.48 .01 Constant 16.61 6.80 2.44 .02 Note. b = unstandardized regression coefficient; SE b = standard error; β = standardized regression coefficient; The response variable for this analysis is the total number of programs in which respondents expressed interest. R2 = .16, F(7, 140) = 3.66, p = .001

Simone Westerman

Figure 1. Map of Albany, New York. The NNORC is outlined.

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Determination of Lead in Canada Good Meat

Introduction to “Determination of Lead in Canada Goose Meat” Sara L. Alvaro Assistant Professor of Chemistry Communities across New York State have grappled with the problem of nuisance Canada Geese and their effect on public spaces and bodies of water. The population boom of these birds in recent years has led many communities to make the controversial decision to humanely kill hundreds if not thousands of geese. In some cases, community advocate groups successfully fight this ―death sentence.‖ This occurred in 2006 in Scotia, NY where, after residents petitioned the town, the Collins Park geese were granted a reprieve and remain there to this day. In many communities, however, the non-lethal efforts to scare and relocate the geese fail and as a last resort the geese are killed.

Recently, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in conjunction with the New York State Department of Agriculture chose to implement a plan to distribute this goose meat to local food pantries rather than dispose of the thousands of carcasses from across the state in landfills. Since this goose meat is untested, concerns about the safety of the meat needed to be addressed prior to any distribution and consumption.

Enter the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Food Laboratory in Albany, NY and Elizabeth Mullin, whose interest in food chemistry led her to an internship with this lab. The Albany food lab regularly tests thousands of food samples a year, including baby formula, ground beef and milk, to ensure product safety for consumers and truth in product labeling. In this particular case, there were concerns about the level of lead in the goose meat and the lab was charged with determining if the samples of meat were safe for human consumption with lead levels at or below accepted standards.

Elizabeth was involved from start to finish in the analysis of the samples of goose meat that came to the laboratory, from method development and validation to lead testing and data analysis. This is one of many projects she has been involved with during her internship, working under the lab‘s quality assurance officer. Elizabeth will continue her important work making sure the food we eat is safe when she enters an analytical chemistry graduate program in the fall with a concentration on food based research.

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Determination of Lead in Canada Goose Meat Elizabeth Mullin Chemistry Major: Class of 2012 The vast Canada goose population in New York State has become problematic in the past few years. To reduce their population, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) decided to implement a program to humanely euthanize them and donate the meat to local food pantries. Before the meat could be consumed, portions were sent to the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets Food Laboratory to determine if they contained unsafe concentrations of lead. Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry was used to calculate lead concentrations at the parts per billion level. A few of the samples contained concentrations greater than the European Union action level for lead in meat. One sample that had a high concentration of lead contained pieces of metal that were presumed to be lead shot.

The results were reported to the USDA who determined which goose meat samples would be safe for human consumption.

The population of Canada geese in New York State has been increasing exponentially over the past 30 years. The ideal habitat of geese consists of small bodies of water such as lakes and ponds surrounded by grassy areas. New York State has many such locations; however most are located in urban and suburban areas (Lauber, Knuth, & Deshler, 2002).

Not only are these geese a nuisance, their presence can actually be quite harmful. When a large gaggle of geese is present in a residential area, the area can quickly become contaminated with feces.

This fecal matter can cover beaches, grassy areas, sidewalks and can even infiltrate water systems. The microorganisms commonly found in goose feces can lead to illness or even death. Goose feces collected in Ohio parks contained Giardia, Campylobacter, and Cryptosporidium (Hailu, Harrington, & Bisesi, 2004). All of these organisms cause diarrheal infections which can often lead to dehydration. People with a compromised immune system and children are more likely to suffer serious complications.

Another problem associated with the over population of geese relates to airplanes. In 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 was forced to crash land in the Hudson River due to damage caused by geese flying into the engines. Between 1980 and 2007, pilots have reported over 82,000 bird plane collisions. Geese were to blame in all collisions that 136

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caused extensive damage, due to their large size relative to other bird species (Walsh, 2009).

In order to prevent future problems, New York State decided to reduce the goose population from 250,000 to 85,000 gradually over time starting in 2010. The original plan, developed by the United States Department of Agriculture, consisted of capturing large quantities of geese and transporting them to a secure location for euthanasia and burial (Raftery, 2010).

This past year, a new plan to control the goose population was put into effect. The New York State Department of Agriculture worked alongside The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to determine an alternative method to disposing of the goose carcasses. They determined that if the goose meat was safe for human consumption they would donate it to local food banks. The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Food Laboratory was called in to determine if the meat was safe.

The major safety concern with the goose meat was the lead content, which could pose a serious health threat to those who consumed it. Due to the use of lead shot for hunting as well as environmental conditions, the potential for high concentration of lead was a real threat. Lead in the body can affect the central and peripheral nervous systems, kidney function as well as the vascular system.

Although lead poisoning can be a problem with adults, it is much more detrimental to children. This is due to the fact that their neurological cells are still growing and developing. Lead can disrupt cellular development which can lead to altered brain function and mental retardation (Lyn, 2006).

Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to analyze these samples. This method was used because it only requires a small quantity of sample and can detect and quantitate concentrations at the parts of parts per billion (ppb) level. ICP-MS is also very efficient; it produces minimal waste and a large number of samples can be analyzed quickly and efficiently.

Materials and Methods Sample collection and preparation Breast meat of geese was collected from eleven different sites throughout New York State. Forty samples were packaged, labeled, and frozen by the USDA APHIS Wildlife Services. Before analysis, the samples were given a unique lab identification number, thawed and homogenized. Homogenized samples were placed in Whirl-Pac sample bags and stored in a refrigerator until analysis.

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All reagents used were trace metal grade. Distilled deionized water was used in the preparation of all solutions. The metal standard solutions used for the calibration were prepared by diluting ICP-MS Calibration Standard 1 for Method 200.8 (Accutrace, New Haven, CT).

The standards were made in polypropylene volumetric flasks and adjusted to volume with distilled deionized water. Two milliliters of HCl and HNO3 were added to each flask to keep the metals stable in the standard mix in solution.

Determination of lead All glassware was acid washed prior to analysis. Each homogenized sample (5 g) was placed in Vycor dishes. To avoid contamination, single-use plastic tools were used to transfer the samples. Each sample was then heated on a hot plate until charred. The charred samples were then placed in a muffle furnace (500掳C) for 18 hours. The ash was dissolved in 5mL of concentrated nitric acid and gently heated until all ash was in solution. The contents of the Vycor dish, as well as 5 mL of concentrated hydrochloric acid were then added to a 100mL volumetric flask and diluted to volume with distilled deionized water.

The samples were then analyzed using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (7500cx, Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA) with an integrated autosampler. A Micromist nebulizer and a Peltier cooled double pass spray chamber was used to introduce the sample. Lead ions were analyzed in the no gas mode. 209Bi+ was analyzed with each sample as an internal standard. A 50 ng/g internal standard mix was added to the sample on-line using an internal standard connector block (King, Sheridan & Rice, 2010). To account for the different isotopes of lead the following interference equation was used: 208: (208)路1+(206)路1+(205)路1. A calibration curve was constructed and used to calculate the concentration of the samples (Figure 1). The limit of quantitation (LOQ) was reported to be 100 ppb.

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Figure 1: Calibration Curve used to calculate lead concentration in goose meat samples.

Quality controls A certified reference material of dried chicken liver (Chinese Institute of Geophysical and Geochemical Exploration, GBW10018) was analyzed with each sample set. Calibration integrity samples were also analyzed after every ten samples to ensure that sample carryover was not causing falsely high readings.

Results and Discussion In order to properly judge whether or not this meat was safe for human consumption, the laboratory consulted the European Unionâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s guidelines for food safety. According to their standards, the action level for lead in meat is 100 ppb (Gonzalez-Weller, et al., 2006). The action level is the concentration at which it is considered unsafe for consumption.

Samples were collected from eleven different locations throughout New York State. The map depicts the locations where the samples were collected (Figure 2). The samples collected from downstate (near New York City) and in more populated areas contained concentrations of lead that were well below the set action limit of 100 ppb while some of the samples collected from more rural regions contained harmful quantities of lead. A possible explanation for this would be that people are more likely to hunt in rural areas. Using lead College of Saint Rose

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shot while hunting could cause an increased concentration of lead to be present.

Figure 2: Map of New York State. The locations shown with circles depict locations in which one or more samples with high concentrations of lead were collected. The other locations samples were collected are shown using rectangles.

Of the samples that had unsafe levels of lead, one of the samples actually contained pieces of metal (Figure 3). It was suspected that this sample may contain solid metal because during the homogenization process it sounded like something metal was being ground up. Presumably, the metal recovered from this specimen was lead birdshot. Geese have a very thick layer of muscle that makes it nearly impossible for hunters to kill them if they do not get a clean head shot. Geese that have been shot can often go on to live a normal life with the bullet still embedded in the muscle. This can cause hot spots of lead to be present in the goose meat.

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Figure 3: Photo of metal shot recovered from sample. Inlay magnified photo.

No metal was recovered from the other samples that had a high concentration of lead. This is either due to the fact that these geese did not obtain high lead concentrations from being hit with lead shot or that they were shot in another portion of the body.

It has been reported that high lead concentration in geese is attributed to their grazing tendencies. Geese, as well as other birds, graze on rocks and small pebbles in order to aid the digestion of plant material that makes up the majority of their diet. Some of the rocks that geese are eating are actually lead shot (Tsipoura, 2011). This lead is ground in the gizzard and can become incorporated into the muscle, liver, and feathers of the goose as well as cause problems with the gooseâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s nervous, circulatory, and digestive systems (White, 1977).

The concentration of lead in the majority (77.5%) of the samples was well below the action limit set by the European Union (Figure 4). The samples that contained high concentrations of lead were reported to the USDA as unsafe for human consumption. The New York State Food Laboratory has agreed to continue its surveillance of lead in goose meat. They plan to analyze another set of samples next summer.

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Concentration of Lead in Samples [Pb] (ppb)

1000 500 0

Sample EU Action Limit for Pb

Figure 4. Graphical representation of lead concentrations for each sample. Values above the dotted line were considered unsafe for human consumption.

Acknowledgments I would like to thank Thomas King and Stephan Thomas from the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Food Laboratory for their assistance with method development and sample analysis.

References Gonzalez-Weller, D., Karlsson, L., et al. (2006). Lead and cadmium in meat and meat products consumed by the population of Tenerife Island, Spain. Food Additives and Contaminants, 757-763, doi:10.1080/02652030600758142 Hailu, K., Harrington, B. & Bisesi, M. (2004). Cryptosporidiosis: a brief literature review and update regarding cryptosporidium in feces of Canada geese. Journal of Environmental Health, 34-39.

King, T., Sheridan, R., Rice, D. (2010). Analysis of toxic metals in seafood sold in New York State by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and direct combustion analysis.

Journal of Food Protection, 1715-1720.

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Lauber, T., Knuth, B., & Deshler, J. (2002). Educating citizens about controversial issues: the case of suburban goose management.

Society and Natural Resources, 581-597.

Lyn, P. (2006). Lead toxicology, a review of the literature, part 1.

Alternative Medicine Review, 2-22.

Raftery, I. (2010, July 24). Agencies plan to reduce Canada geese population in New York State by two-thirds. New York Times.

Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/24/nyregion/24geese.html Tsipoura, N., et al., Lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, and arsenic levels in eggs, feathers, and tissues of Canada geese of the New Jersey Meadowlands. Environ. Res. (2011), doi:10.1016/j.envres.2011.05.013 Walsh, B.(2009, July 6). Man vs. goose. Time, 52-53. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1907144,0 0.html White, D. (1977). Waterfowl exposure to lead and steel shot on selected hunting areas. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 469-475.

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Introduction to “Using the Kinect as a Computer Interface Control” David Goldschmidt Assistant Professor of Computer Science With the flood of touchpad devices in the hands of millions— from smartphones to tablets to ―touchable‖ desktop monitors—the means to controlling and interacting with computers continues to evolve. As a result, the era of the keyboard and mouse is perhaps nearing its end. For many users, the traditional keyboard and mouse are no longer input devices of choice, being replaced by a variety of ―touch‖ inputs (e.g. a finger tap to select, a finger swipe to scroll, a two-finger pinch to zoom, etc.). A key issue with such devices is that the accessible screen size, even for the larger tablets and full-size monitors, often presents frustrating limitations to users.

So imagine if you could interact with a ―screen‖ that was all around you. Many science-fiction movies of late have dazzled us with such ―natural‖ or ―gesture‖ interfaces in which our heroes (or villains) control a computer with a wave of their hands, often dragging holographic images around in front of them to accomplish heroic (or villainous) tasks. The day in which this science-fiction becomes fact may be closer than we think.

The following paper, ―Using the Kinect as a Computer Interface Control,‖ by Peter Bailie summarizes his work and experimentation with the commercially available Kinect motion-sensor system. Using the Kinect, Peter developed a number of proof-ofconcept applications that show how natural or gesture interfaces can indeed become reality. In describing his proof-of-concept applications, Peter makes these new ideas quite interesting and approachable, in particular his modern Pong remake. Further, in a short period of time, he has succeeded in providing the groundwork for future motion-sensor applications.

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Using the Kinect as a Computer Interface Control Peter Bailie Computer Science Major; Class of 2012 The Microsoft Kinect is a three-dimensional sensor capable of tracking the major joints and motion of the human body. It was originally intended as a game controller for the Microsoft Xbox360 video game console; however, the Kinect is the first motion sensor mass-produced for the consumer public, affordable for many households, and its potential lies beyond video games. Use of the Microsoft Kinect could herald in an innovative new control interface paradigm called Natural Interaction (NI) that allows users to use body motions and hand gestures to control a computer device in lieu of a standard mouse and keyboard. This study explores use of the Microsoft Kinect as a motion sensor. Proof-of-concept applications were created to examine possibilities for natural (or gesture) interfaces, which include device data feedback, holo-panels inspired by movies, a block and pendulum control system, and a variation on Pong.

In 2006, Nintendo introduced the Wii video game console, which contained a revolutionary motion controller. Not to be outdone, Microsoft sought a motion controller of their own for the Xbox360 video game console. Microsoft also sought to not just copy Nintendo‘s design, but to come up with an entirely new design. While the Nintendo Wii controller can read motion as acceleration, it is limited to motion of the arm alone. Microsoft‘s Kinect, shown in Figure 1, went further to track the motion of a person‘s entire body. The Kinect arrived for sale in North America in late 2010.

Even though the Kinect was originally intended to be a video game controller, interest in applying the device to other areas of computer science arose. Motion sensors such as the Kinect allow computer devices to be controlled in a manner called ―natural interaction‖ (NI), in which a user‘s body motion is captured and interpreted as an input. The device, when purchased separately from the Xbox360, has a USB connection, and so can be used on any home computer with a USB port. The Kinect‘s motion-sensing components are supplied by PrimeSense Inc., which has made available open source tools that enable computer programmers to write applications for any of their sensor products, and these tools are compatible with the Kinect.

Natural and gesture interfaces using motion sensors are a new approach to interacting with a computer. The focus of this paper is to describe four proof-of-concept studies of how the Kinect can be applied College of Saint Rose

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as a control device for natural (gesture) interaction. Each proof-ofconcept application is described below, including ideas for future work and future applications.

Figure 1. Microsoft Kinect

Programming Tools The programming tools used are cross-platform and open source. One of the goals of this research was to ensure the work is not tied down to a single computing platform. To further emphasize this research as cross-platform, all demonstration projects and discussion are implemented using ISO standard C++ with cross-platform and/or open source C libraries. In the following subsections, the key programming libraries are described, including OpenNI, OpenGL, The OpenGL Utility Toolkit (GLUT), and Simple Direct Media Layer (SDL).

Demonstration programs were initially created on Microsoft Windows, but the projects were also successfully ported to the Macintosh platform with no appreciable source code modifications.

OpenNI OpenNI is an open source programming library maintained by the OpenNI organization, of which PrimeSense Inc. is a member. This is the most important programming library used when interacting with the Kinect. The purpose of this library is to provide an application programming interface (API) for motion sensors like the Kinect.

OpenNI was created to be an API for a set of motion sensors, so it is not exclusive to the Kinect.

This programming library allows a programmer to send commands and receive data from a sensor device, such as the Kinect.

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compatible with Java, .Net C#, and Python.

OpenNI can be used on multiple operating systems, including Windows XP/Vista/7, Macintosh OS X, and Unix/Linux. Also, as OpenNI is open source, the libraries can be downloaded and recompiled to be used in any ISO standard C or C++ environment.

Compiled static link libraries are also provided for Visual Studio 2008 and 2010. Compiled dynamic link libraries are available for Macintosh OS X v10.6 (â&#x20AC;&#x2022;Snow Leopardâ&#x20AC;&#x2013;) and Ubuntu Linux [1,2].

OpenGL OpenGL is intended for one thing only: rendering graphics.

Regardless of the control interface used, a computer requires a visual display to show any and all output. The choice to use OpenGL is made, because it is: 1. A cross-platform programming library that is not proprietary to any single computing platform; 2. An industry-leading technology for displaying visual output; 3. Widely supported and accelerated on the hardware level by many graphics processors, particularly those manufactured by Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).

OpenGL can be used to render two-dimensional and threedimensional graphics; it supports a wide variety of rendering techniques to provide quickly updated and detailed images. For example, OpenGL is used to render the desktop user interface on Macintosh computers [5]. Some graphics processors from Intel are not fully compatible with OpenGL, but in the event that the requirements for OpenGL exceed that of the available graphics processor, the operating system can provide a software driver to compensate. This situation is not ideal as computational performance degrades, and many OpenGL rendering features are lost [4,5,6].

To render anything with OpenGL, a drawing context is needed. OpenGL does not provide a drawing context. The operating system may provide such a drawing context, but doing so requires the use of proprietary programming code unique to that operating system.

It therefore becomes necessary to locate another cross-platform library to provide a drawing context so as to avoid reliance on a single computing platform.

OpenGL Utility Toolkit (GLUT) GLUT was created by Mark Kilgard to provide a crossplatform drawing context and cross-platform windowing system features [7]. GLUT is very easy to program with, and as such it makes a fine library with which to create prototypes with OpenGL. It is, College of Saint Rose

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however, largely unsuitable for professional publishing, because programmers have little control over the timing and flow of an application. GLUT, being suitable for prototyping, is used for most of the demos referenced in this paper.

Simple Direct Media Layer (SDL) SDL is an API for C/C++ created by Sam Latinga to provide an easy-to-use, open source, and cross-platform API for creating computer games and multimedia applications. SDL provides a drawing context for OpenGL, a context to play audio, and many useful tools for programming, including timers, event handling, threading, and networking [8,9,10]. SDL is used in the Pong demo described in detail further below.

The Microsoft Kinect Software Development Kit (Kinect SDK) Microsoft created a beta release of their own software development kit intended for the Kinect sensor. This development kit is only compatible with Windows 7 and .Net programming languages via Visual Studio 2010. The restricted nature of this development kit is not ideal for the research conducted in this paper and therefore has not been used [3].

Communicating With the Kinect Sensor Software Driver All devices on a personal computer require a driver by which the operating system and the hardware components can communicate.

The Kinect is no different. To program with the Kinect, a compatible software driver must first be loaded onto the computer.

Microsoft does not publish a standalone driver for the Kinect, and the driver included with their software development kit is unsuitable for use with OpenNI. All is not lost, as PrimeSense does publish an open source driver for their technologies. Unexpectedly, the Kinect, which contains PrimeSense technology, does not natively operate under these drivers; however, a modified version of the driver that does operate with the Kinect is available at https://github.com/avin2/SensorKinect.

Kinect Initialization and C++ Callback Functions For the Kinect to track a person, it must first detect a profile of that personâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s major joints. When motion is detected, the person is discovered by the Kinect. Most major points of the body can be tracked, including the head, hands, elbows, shoulders, torso, hips, knees, and feet.

When a new person is discovered, a skeleton profile is 148

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automatically generated with the OpenNI library to track that person‘s major joints. Once a skeleton profile is generated, an application may proceed to interpret motion and produce output for that user. The Kinect can be used to track multiple users, and the OpenNI library can be used to process a user that is already profiled while attempting to profile another. The upper bound of the user-tracking capability of the Kinect was not determined in this study. Sample source code provided with OpenNI suggested an upper bound of 16 participants, but this maximum was not verified. The research conducted did have as many as four participants being tracked simultaneously. Also, OpenNI allows profile data to be saved to a file, so that an application does not need to profile a particular user every time the application is run.

Detecting users and generating skeleton profiles are done with events that raise ―callback‖ functions. That is, as soon as motion is detected, the sensor raises an event that can trigger (or call) a function.

This nature of using callback functions allows certain program logic to occur when the event occurs. These events do not need to be polled or checked periodically (which is a waste of computing resources). The OpenNI library automatically triggers the appropriate callback function as necessary [1,2].

GLUT also works in this manner in regards to reading keyboard and mouse input, as well as controlling the operation and flow of an application [7].

Callback functions must follow a very specific prototype, so it is not possible for a programmer to add any additional data parameters to a callback function that are not part of the callback prototype.

Though generally frowned upon in computer science, global variables or statically scoped class members are crucial to using callback functions in OpenNI and GLUT. Demonstration Projects All of the demonstration proof-of-concept projects for this study utilize the Kinect‘s RGB camera. The camera image is displayed, and any additional details are rendered over the camera image. The data is read from the Kinect as standard red, green, and blue (RGB) pixel data using a 640 x 480 resolution and then passed to OpenGL for rendering.

Project: Data Feedback The first demonstration is to retrieve spatial coordinate readings from the Kinect. This program is based on two demonstration programs that are included with OpenNI, namely NIUserTracker and NISimpleViewer. NISimpleViewer provided code that shows the RGB College of Saint Rose

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camera image. The sample program NIUserTracker was easy to modify to display the X, Y, and Z coordinates of any major point on a human user [2]. As seen in Figure 2, these coordinate values are shown over the head, torso, left hand, and right hand of two participants.

Figure 2. Data Feedback Demonstration

Project: Holo-Panels Demonstration Inspired by how holographic images could be manipulated with hand motions, as seen in such movies as Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, Minority Report, and Iron Man, this projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s goal was to show that an image could be manipulated by the hands. The program is similar to the first Data Feedback project; however, as shown in Figure 3, instead of displaying coordinate data, OpenGL is used to display two holographic-looking globes where the userâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s hands are.

Figure 3. Holo-Panels Demonstration 150

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The globes are a two-dimensional brute force animation of 60 individual frames to depict their rotation. They were created using The GIMP (Gnu Image Manipulation Program), an open source alternative to Adobe Photoshop®.

Depth sensing is used to scale the globes by comparing the absolute distance between a user‘s hand and his or her center of mass.

As the globes are two-dimensional images placed over a square surface, the scaling is accomplished by resizing the square. OpenGL then automatically adjusts the size of the globe image as the square is scaled with a process known as ―mip-mapping.‖ The square scaling function is:

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 ( d   center of mass  hand )(sfactor )  sidesquare = 128pixels  f point     where Δdcenter of mass - hand is the distance between the user‘s center of mass and his or her hand, fpoint is the distance away from the user‘s center of mass where the globe‘s square surface and texture pixel dimensions are equal size (128x128 pixels), and the value sfactor is a scaling factor to make the scaling function grow or shrink. Though arbitrarily chosen, fpoint is set to 350 millimeters and sfactor is set at 1.

The main purpose of this demonstration is to show that input from the Kinect can be used to move and manipulate an image. While the globe‘s size is affected by the Kinect‘s depth sensor, the globe‘s spin is constant and was implemented simply to give additional artistic flair to the project.

Given that the globes are technically two-dimensional objects that spin on their own, a future version could have OpenGL render a three-dimensional object that could spin at various speeds based on hand gestures. Such a program would need to calculate the acceleration of motion and apply simulated friction once the object is spinning to gradually slow it down.

Project: Inverted Block and Pendulum Demonstration The inverted block and pendulum is a standard problem examined in Control Theory [12]. The block has an attached pendulum that falls due to gravity. The challenge is to create a control system that can be used to swing the pendulum by accelerating the block back and forth so as to stand the pendulum upright. Naturally, the pendulum would fall again, so the greater challenge is to control the block to keep the pendulum upright as long as possible.

As shown in Figure 4, this block and pendulum system simulates a block that can be moved one-dimensionally along a horizontal line. The block is slid back and forth along that line by tracking the X coordinate of the user‘s right hand.

The Kinect is polled at regular intervals, the same frequency of time that the block and pendulum system operates on. As the X value is read from the Kinect, it is recorded into a data queue of three points. These points are then used to calculate acceleration by:

accelerati on = k(a 0  2a 1 + a 2 )f 2 where the three points read by the Kinect are a0, a1, and a2, variable k is 152 Journal of Undergraduate Research

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a scalar value, and f is the frequency of time at which the Kinect is polled for a data point (measured in milliseconds).

This data queue of three points is updated every time the Kinect sensor is polled. After each update to the queue, a new acceleration value is calculated. The acceleration values are then pushed into another data queue of five elements. Just as with the first data queue of three points, this second data queue of acceleration values is updated with every reading of the Kinect.

As the data queue of acceleration values is updated, all the values are calculated via a low-pass filter. This process multiplies all five data elements by 0.2, then sums them together to produce a filtered acceleration value. Although not necessarily required by a low-pass filter, this particular filter has the effect of averaging all five acceleration values [11].

This filtered acceleration value is then passed into a numerical solver, called ODE45, which was written by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute graduate student Andy Winn and provided for this particular demonstration. The ODE45 numerical solver is based on the â&#x20AC;&#x2022;Dormand-Princeâ&#x20AC;&#x2013; method of solving differential equations and is used to calculate the dynamics of the block and pendulum so that at every calculation cycle, the angular momentum and angle of the pendulum in relation to the block is known. This dynamical system also takes into account other values, such as simulated gravity and simulated friction, which are constant in this project.

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Figure 4. Inverted Block and Pendulum Demonstration

The angular momentum must be used in every calculation cycle to determine an updated angular momentum and pendulum angle.

With the pendulum angle known, it is then drawn in relation to the block using OpenGL. To summarize this process, in every calculation cycle, the following occurs: 1.

2.

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The Kinect is polled and an X coordinate data point representing the userâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s hand position is pushed onto a data queue of three elements.

An acceleration value is calculated from the first data queue, and this new value is pushed onto another data queue of five elements.

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A filtered acceleration value is calculated by multiplying all five points by 0.2 and summing them together.

4. The filtered acceleration value, current angular momentum, and pendulum angle are passed into numerical solver ODE45.

5. ODE45 returns two values: an updated angular momentum and a new angle of the pendulum in relation to the block.

6. The block‘s position and pendulum‘s angle is updated in OpenGL and displayed.

The result is that the pendulum can be swung side to side by moving the block with the user‘s hand. With enough acceleration, the pendulum can be swung upright. It is, however, extraordinarily difficult to get the pendulum to stand upright for more than a short moment.

3.

Project: Pong Game As the Kinect was originally created to be a game controller, examination of the Kinect in this context is natural. One of the oldest computer games is Pong. It is a simulation of table tennis in which two players move a paddle up and down their side of the playing field; the paddles act as goalkeepers to protect the left and right sides of the field.

A ball bounces across the playing field and the players must use their paddles to protect their goals and bounce the ball back toward their opponent. Should the ball get past a player‘s paddle, his or her opponent scores a goal.

The original Pong was played with wheel type controllers (also known as paddles) to move the player‘s paddles up and down. In adapting Pong to the Kinect, this project tracks a player‘s hand. As shown in Figure 5, player 1 assumes the left playing field with the red paddle and uses his left hand, while player 2 assumes the right playing field with the green paddle and uses his right hand. The players‘ paddles are directly controlled by the position of the player‘s hand over a vertical line.

To ensure proper behavior of the ball, a system of hit detection must be implemented. Hit detection is applicable to other aspects of computer science besides computer games. Many applications contain logical behavior dependent on whether two objects intersect or not.

The ball starts in the center of the screen with its trajectory heading toward player 1‘s goal. The Kinect is used to determine the position of the players‘ paddles, and hit detection determines when the ball contacts any area of interest (i.e. a goal, a player‘s paddle, the upper or lower bounds of the field, etc.).

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Figure 5. Pong Demonstration

The ball‘s hit detection requires several checks. Should the ball reach the very top or bottom of the screen, its vertical trajectory must be reversed to keep it in the playing field. Also, should the ball come in contact with a paddle, its horizontal trajectory must be reversed. Should the ball go off the playing field on either the left or right side, a player has scored a goal.

There are numerous ways to improve Pong, and Atari experimented with many variations through the 1970s; however, for the Kinect, a new approach to improving Pong might be to interpret sequences of hand motions that can represent various types of racket swings and returns, such as ―topspin‖ or ―backspin,‖ as seen in a real game of tennis or table tennis.

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Conclusion In this paper, we explored possibilities for the Microsoft Kinect to serve as a computer control interface. Mainly, this study examined the use of raw spatial data from the Kinect—in particular the hands—as a control interface. Humans already use their hands to control a computer via a keyboard and mouse, so it is natural to continue using the hands as a point of reference; however, the Kinect can discern spatial coordinates at other major points of the body and is not limited to the hands (an area ripe for further exploration).

Human beings communicate not only with their voices, but also with body language. Motions of the body can be interpreted with artificial intelligence as a form of input data that can be processed.

This could enable researchers in robotics and artificial intelligence to create computer intelligences that more naturally respond to human beings or detect certain human behaviors.

The Kinect can also be used in robotics to make a robot mimic a person. By reading the motion of a human being, a robot can mimic such motions. This has advantages in using robots to perform labor in dangerous environments or even in outer space, which greatly improves human safety.

Any kind of motion gesture can also be interpreted as a signal for input data, not dissimilar to what has been seen in movies. As computers become smaller, the input devices have also become smaller.

Buttons can only be so small before becoming unusable by a majority of the user population. Technology, as demonstrated via the Kinect in this study, can allow computers to scale down further without worry that the input mechanisms become unusable.

As people use their hands to manipulate objects in the world, hand gestures can improve the interaction between people and computers to become more natural. Instead of ―drag and drop,‖ a user could instead ―grab and drop‖ a panel.

Bibliography [1] ―OpenNI User Guide― Internet: http://www.openni.org/Documentation.aspx [October 7, 2011] [2] ―OpenNI / Github Social Coding‖ Internet: https://github.com/OpenNI/OpenNI [October 7, 2011] [3] Microsoft Corporation. ―Kinect For Windows SDK Beta Documentation‖ Internet: http://research.microsoft.com/enCollege of Saint Rose

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us/um/redmond/projects/kinectsdk/guides.aspx [June 16, 2011] [4] Mason Woo, Jackie Neider, and Tom Davis. OpenGL Programming Guide 2nd Edition. Addison Wesley, 1997 [5] Richard Wright Jr., Nicholas Maemel, Graham Sellers, and Benjamin Lipchak. OpenGL Superbible 5th Edition. Ann Arbor, MI: Pearson Education, 2011.

[6] The Khronos Group. ―OpenGL 2.1 Reference Pages‖ Internet: http://www.opengl.org/sdk/docs/man/ [August 1, 2011] [7] Mark J. Kilgard. ―The OpenGL Utility Toolkit (GLUT) Programming Interface API Version 3‖ Internet: http://www.opengl.org/resources/libraries/glut/spec3/spec3.html [July 22, 2011] [8] ―SDL version 1.2.14 (Stable)‖ Internet: http://www.libsdl.org/download-1.2.php [September 5, 2011] [9] ―SDL Introduction‖ Internet: http://www.libsdl.org/intro.en/toc.html [September 5, 2011] [10] Erik Yuzwa and François Domminic Laramée. Learn C++ By Making Games. Charles River Media, 2007.

[11] Alan V. Oppenheim, Alan S. Willsky, and S. Hamid Nawab. Signals & Systems 2nd Edition. Prentice Hall, 1996.

[12] Gene F. Franklin, J. David Powell, and Abbas EmamiNaeini. Feedback Control of Dynamic Systems 5th Edition. Prentice Hall, 2005.

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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Call for Papers Journal of Undergraduate Research Volume IV The Journal of Undergraduate Research publishes high-quality work written by undergraduate students at the College of Saint Rose in all fields, and is published each spring. Current students and recent graduates are invited to submit their work for consideration.

Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis, though there is a deadline each fall for the following spring‘s publication. Papers must be revised before publication.  Send your submission as a clean electronic copy, in Microsoft Word, to journal@strose.edu.  Include a cover page with your name, department, and class year. If the paper was originally written for a course, please indicate which course it was, when it was taken, and who the professor was.

Include a statement of original authorship. Do not place your name anywhere else in the document.  Include an abstract and a complete bibliography. Tables and figures may be included in the text or attached at the end.  For more information, see http://www.strose.edu/academics/ academic_publications/journal_of_undergraduate_research

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