"Taboo Territory" Case
Shown here are images from the exhibit "Alternative Voices," a student project that was part of Professor Sharon Zuber's Fall 2011 LCST 201 "Constructing the News" Introduction to Literary and Cultural Studies class. The exhibit is located in the Read and Relax area on the first floor of Swem Library, and will be on display from December 6, 2011-April 30, 2012.
This case was curated by Brian Lynn, Jaren Maynard, Reid McBride, and Heidi Scanlon.
The following is a transcription of the label text in this case:
‘Oh happy day,’ at least that is the way it looks from the depiction. The decree that students may no longer physically abuse their slaves is accompanied by a stereotypical cartoon slave doing a dance under the caption ‘Negroes Rejoice,’ illustrating how humor publications took risks in the realms of taboo topics.
Owl, 1854
Race—a controversial subject or something to laugh about? This small dialogue makes fun of the language used by the African American slaves on campus at the time. The Owl is able to enter taboo territory by poking fun at the slaves because of its literary genre and light–hearted way of doing so.
Owl, 1854
‘You can't handle the truth,’ but the Scalper is going to give it to you anyway, regardless of how the administration may feel about it. This laid the foundation for the idea that jabs at authority are acceptable in the realms of humor publications on campus.
Scalper, Vol. 1 No. 1, 1925
Tear down the Wren, we need a new parking lot! The article is a humorous interpretation of the seemingly constant construction and development efforts on campus. This piece is packed with hyperbole and sarcasm aimed directly at the president and administration of the college.
Fifth Horseman, Vol. 1 No. 2, March 1972
Comment on sexuality, blatantly criticize the administration, and then make a reference to the KKK, and you’ve written an article nobody wants to publish. Make it funny though, and it gets published in the Taverner.
William and Mary Taverner, Vol. 1 No. 2, 1988
When is it okay to laugh about STDs? When reading the Taverner of course. Although the article comments on these matters in a less than serious way, this humor publication provides an arena for themes of sexuality that otherwise would go unvoiced.
William and Mary Taverner, Vol. 1 No. 3, 1988
From the Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library at the College of William and Mary. See swem.wm.edu/scrc/ for further information and assistance.
"Taboo Territory" Case
Shown here are images from the exhibit "Alternative Voices," a student project that was part of Professor Sharon Zuber's Fall 2011 LCST 201 "Constructing the News" Introduction to Literary and Cultural Studies class. The exhibit is located in the Read and Relax area on the first floor of Swem Library, and will be on display from December 6, 2011-April 30, 2012.
This case was curated by Brian Lynn, Jaren Maynard, Reid McBride, and Heidi Scanlon.
The following is a transcription of the label text in this case:
‘Oh happy day,’ at least that is the way it looks from the depiction. The decree that students may no longer physically abuse their slaves is accompanied by a stereotypical cartoon slave doing a dance under the caption ‘Negroes Rejoice,’ illustrating how humor publications took risks in the realms of taboo topics.
Owl, 1854
Race—a controversial subject or something to laugh about? This small dialogue makes fun of the language used by the African American slaves on campus at the time. The Owl is able to enter taboo territory by poking fun at the slaves because of its literary genre and light–hearted way of doing so.
Owl, 1854
‘You can't handle the truth,’ but the Scalper is going to give it to you anyway, regardless of how the administration may feel about it. This laid the foundation for the idea that jabs at authority are acceptable in the realms of humor publications on campus.
Scalper, Vol. 1 No. 1, 1925
Tear down the Wren, we need a new parking lot! The article is a humorous interpretation of the seemingly constant construction and development efforts on campus. This piece is packed with hyperbole and sarcasm aimed directly at the president and administration of the college.
Fifth Horseman, Vol. 1 No. 2, March 1972
Comment on sexuality, blatantly criticize the administration, and then make a reference to the KKK, and you’ve written an article nobody wants to publish. Make it funny though, and it gets published in the Taverner.
William and Mary Taverner, Vol. 1 No. 2, 1988
When is it okay to laugh about STDs? When reading the Taverner of course. Although the article comments on these matters in a less than serious way, this humor publication provides an arena for themes of sexuality that otherwise would go unvoiced.
William and Mary Taverner, Vol. 1 No. 3, 1988
From the Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library at the College of William and Mary. See swem.wm.edu/scrc/ for further information and assistance.