Dissertation Defense Schedule
Academic Excellence
Sharing original dissertation research is a principle to which the University of Delaware is deeply committed. It is the single most important assignment our graduate students undertake and upon completion is met with great pride.
We invite you to celebrate this milestone by attending their dissertation defense. Please review the upcoming dissertation defense schedule below and join us!
PROGRAM | History
Quotidian Resistance: Black American Girls, Their Embroideries, and the History of Education in the Northeastern United States, 1789 – 1852
By: Kelli Barnes Chair: Tanisha Ford
ABSTRACT
There is a historical link between Black American girls and their needlework in early America, Great Britain’s religious and educational organizations, and the needlework traditions of the African continent. This dissertation focuses on the history of education and needlework in the United States between 1789 and 1852 through the needlework, particularly girlhood embroideries, of Black American girls. Phebe Cash, Mary D’Silver, Mary Emiston, Rosena Disery, Adaline Harris, and Olevia Rebecca Parker are centered throughout the chapters utilizing material and visual culture analysis of their needlework. By centering on Black American creative girls, a more nuanced understanding is gained about the spread of embroidery knowledge and the formal education system formed for Black children in the United States. For instance, this dissertation locates African embroidery knowledge within the transatlantic world dating back centuries and reveals the influences of Indigenous African and Islamic traditions, brought with the people enslaved in the Americas and passed down through generations in the United States. This history is often not taught or acknowledged in American embroidery, sampler-making, or needlework books. Furthermore, this dissertation focuses the transition of education for Black American children linked to education policies across the ocean in Great Britain from the home to public spaces. This work is done by turning to the work of scholars Saidiya V. Hartman, Robin Bernstein, and Jasmine Nichole Cobb. It employs the methodology of critical fabulation, the performance-based theory of scriptive things, and the transatlantic parlor to uncover what cannot be known from the scant archival documents of these girls’ lives. Ultimately, “Quotidian Resistance: Black American Girls, their Girlhood Embroideries, and the History of Education in the Northeastern United States, 1789-1852” adds to the rich tapestry of information being gathered about Black girls during the early national and antebellum periods.
The Process
Step-by-Step
Visit our “Step-by-Step Graduation Guide” to take you through the graduation process.From formatting your Dissertation to Doctoral Hooding procedures.
Dissertation Manual
Wondering how to set up the format for your paper. Refer to the “UD Thesis/Dissertation Manual” for formatting requirements and more.
Defense Submission Form
This form must be completed two weeks in advance of a dissertation defense to meet the University of Delaware Graduate and Professional Education’s requirements.
