Selected Student Research from 2010

"Setting the World on Fire”: The Wartime Story of Rudolph Bigda

Kurt Spear — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 06:08:29 PDT

This paper examines the World War II experiences of Rudolph Bigda, Bryant class of 1935. Bigda’s story sheds new light on the remarkable accomplishments of the Bryant Service Club, a student organization formed in March 1942 by Bryant students for Bryant alumni serving their country during World War II. The purpose of the club was to send letters, cigarettes, candy, cookies and hand-knitted articles to Bryant men and women serving in the U.S. military. By the end of the war, approximately 500 alumni serving both stateside and abroad had received letters and packages from the club. Between July 1942 and November 1944, Rudy Bigda wrote seven letters, V-Mails, or post cards to the Bryant Service Club, thanking the club for the gifts that he had received and informing the club of his whereabouts and military activities. This paper is based on these letters, a three-hour oral history interview and video recording with Bigda that took place in 2010, and numerous follow-up telephone conversations.

Keeping America Fed and Healthy During World War II: Sylvia Brooklyn Denhoff, Home Economist

Madeleine Lux et al. — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 09:21:34 PDT

World War II served as a major force for change in the lives of many American women. Whether on the home front or overseas, the wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters of the United States played an integral role in the American quest for victory. One such woman was Sylvia Brooklyn Denhoff. With a degree in home economics from Syracuse University, Sylvia was hired in 1943 to write “food columns” for the left-wing newspaper PM. Her columns contained information on substitutes for scarce foods, such as meat and butter, the importance of observing price ceilings, recipes for healthy, nutritious meals, and the point system of rationing. Drawing from the more than 150 “food columns” that she wrote as well as extensive interviews with the author, this paper provides an in-depth analysis of Sylvia’s work at PM . It illustrates how her advice on how to make-do during the trying days of rationing and food shortages was a crucial part of the United States government’s mission to get American women on the home front to do their part for the war effort by conserving food, abiding by rationing restrictions, and ensuring that that their families ate nutritious meals.

Wartime China’s Resistance against Japanese Aggression: Changing Interpretations and Perspectives

Jason Fortin et al. — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 08:22:47 PDT

In 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria and established the puppet state of Manchukuo in northeast China. Hoping to avoid an all-out war with Japan, China pursued a policy of appeasement and did not resist the occupation of China. Nonetheless, in 1937 the Japanese launched a massive attack against Beijing and the eastern coastal cities of China and continued its assault until World War II ended in August 1945. This period, known as the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, has seen many shifts in its historical narrative. After Japan surrendered, a full-fledged civil war broke out between the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Nationalist/Kuomintang (KMT). The 1949 victory of the CPC and subsequent Mao Zedong era (1949-1976) limited the Chinese memory of the war of against Japanese aggression. However, following the death of Mao, China began a “new remembering” of this war. Our research examines the changing interpretations and perspectives of wartime China in the Mao and post-Mao eras. In addition to academic literature on the subject, our paper draws upon our first-hand exploration of Chinese government-sponsored wartime museums and sites from our research trip to China in June, 2010. Our paper also evaluates the challenges that the Chinese government has encountered as it works to advance a comprehensive history that details the contributions of both the Nationalists and the Communists in the War against Japanese Aggression.