Theses and Dissertations from UMD
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2
New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a give thesis/dissertation in DRUM
More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.
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Item EXPANDING THE HISTORIC NARRATIVE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN WATERMEN IN CHESAPEAKE BAY COMMERCIAL FISHERIES: PRESERVING CULTURAL HERITAGE AND ENSURING FUTURE AFRICAN AMERICAN MARITIME PARTICIPATION THROUGH A SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS PERSPECTIVE(2024) Black, Imani; Gray, Dr. Matthew; Shaffer, Dr. Jen; Marine-Estuarine-Environmental Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This thesis investigates African Americans' historical and contemporary contributions to the Chesapeake Bay commercial fishing industry, employing a social-ecological system (SES) framework to explore their roles, challenges, and the decline in their participation. Utilizing methods such as oral histories, participant observations, and historical analysis, the research highlights the significant yet underrecognized contributions of African American communities to the maritime heritage of Chesapeake Bay. Through in-depth interviews with African American watermen, historians, and community members, the study examines their achievements, obstacles, and the impacts of ecological and social change on their participation trends. Additionally, it assesses the influence of prominent African American coastal communities on commercial fisheries and discusses strategies for future engagement and adaptation in a rapidly evolving industry. The findings challenge prevailing perceptions of marginal involvement by revealing substantial African American participation across various aspects of the fisheries, emphasizing the importance of acknowledging this legacy and promoting diversity and inclusion for industry sustainability. By showcasing the rich heritage and ongoing excellence of Black maritime traditions in Chesapeake Bay, this thesis underscores the critical need for greater recognition of African American contributions to the Bay’s preservation, restoration, and strong ties to the cultural heritage that have built the coastal communities along its shoreline.Item Revisiting the Reservation: The Lumbee Community of East Baltimore(2020) Minner, Ashley Colleen; Williams Forson, Psyche; Pearson, Barry L; American Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)“Revisiting the Reservation” is an analysis of the relationship between Baltimore’s Lumbee Indian community and the neighborhood where the community settled following the second World War. It is an inquiry into the roles of memory and place in the formation of identity. Vestiges of the Lumbee tribal homeland in North Carolina have become part of the built environment in East Baltimore as a result of the presence of Lumbee people. Tangible aspects of East Baltimore now also exist in the Lumbee tribal homeland. Lumbee people of East Baltimore are the living embodiment of both places. Over time, the community’s connection to the neighborhood has changed due to a complex set of factors ranging from Urban Renewal to upward mobility. This dissertation asks how the community’s identity has been affected. American Indian identity, constructed through a colonial lens, necessarily diminishes over time due to changing connections. The Baltimore Lumbee community illustrates that identity is actually an additive, adaptive process; heritage is living and culture continually evolves. This dissertation utilizes an interdisciplinary framework synthesized from the fields of American Indian Studies and Public Folklore to consider questions of heritage using a decolonial lens. The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is introduced via the tribal homeland and the social and economic conditions that prompted a mass migration to East Baltimore. East Baltimore is introduced via an abbreviated chronicle of the presence of American Indian people and other racial and ethnic groups leading up to the presence of Lumbee. Drawing primarily on oral history interviews and archival research, experiences of Lumbee arriving to Baltimore in the postwar years are highlighted, as are the safe havens they adopted, established and stewarded to exist freely and in community with one another away from “home.” The research process to map Baltimore’s former “reservation” and develop a walking tour to commemorate its sites is detailed as a project of reclamation of history, space, and belonging. An analysis of the expressive culture of subsequent generations of Baltimore Lumbee, including fashion, material possessions, food, and speech, reveals that memory and place play significant roles in the formation of identity. As connection to place changes over time, memory of place within identity prevails. Communities must share memory to understand how to engage in a future.Item Building A Collection's Care Index: An Approach to Helping Preserve Our Cultural Heritage Before It Disappears(2020) Langa, Lesley Anne; Bertot, John C; Punzalan, Ricardo L; Library & Information Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Cultural heritage is important to everyone. Whether it is family heirlooms passed down through generations, or the archaeological evidence of lost civilizations, we preserve these things to have them for future generations. To protect them, it is important that specialists have the knowledge and skills to handle the multiple challenges that can result from, or that can prevent, deterioration. These professionals perform care duties regularly in organizations such as archives, libraries and museums. Any organization with an historical, art, or circulating collection that performs these duties is a collections-based institution, and these institutions are responsible for the difficult and specialized care of the collection items. This study analyzes data from a national survey called the Heritage Health Information (HHI) Study 2014 that asked collections-based institutions about their regular care practice. The HHI survey measured practice from U.S. institutions resulting in a robust 1,714 responses. New analysis in this dissertation builds a collections care index from HHI, then performs a multiple regression on the index score. The index process begins by identifying a common list of twelve key practices in collections care. Each practice is reviewed prior to the scoring in the index to ensure valid results. An original scoring rubric assigns a score to each practice, then all scores are added into a single composite index score. In a second analysis, the index score serves as the dependent variable in a multiple regression where organizational type, budget size, total staff count, and the count of collections items are independent variables to measure the effect each can have on the composite score. The findings from the index show that the highest count of scores clustered around the mid-range of the distribution indicating that most organizations are doing some care duties. The regression findings show large budgets had the greatest effect on scores. The index is the key contribution of this study serving as a tool to help organizations determine how their efforts to perform each responsibility contributes to their overall management. This has implications for performance management and resource allocations for cultural heritage organizations, as well as, professional associations.Item Reclaiming Identity: Utilizing Historic Fabric to Revitalize Downtown Rochester(2019) Haley, Kelly Marie; Bell, Matthew J; Linebaugh, Donald W; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)America’s first boomtown, Rochester, New York, rapidly decentralized after World War II. Like other mid-sized industrial cities, Rochester struggled to retain residents and businesses as suburbia flourished. Recently, the city is witnessing a resurgence as national trends favor urban living. This growth coupled with initiatives to develop downtown, leads to Rochester’s obligation to reclaim its identity on the Genesee River by adaptively reusing its historic structures, establishing public spaces, and developing vacant lots to benefit current and future residents and businesses. The development of downtown by respectfully utilizing historic fabric will address the unused skeletons of past endeavors by reclaiming these spaces. The opportunity to reclaim the abandoned Erie Canal aqueduct and Broad Street Bridge, through programming will fit the needs of the downtown. The development of the structure as a centerpiece will assist in the city’s revitalization effort and breathe life into the central business district.Item Historic Preservation and Sustainability in an Equestrian Center Revitalization(2015) Rosenthal, Shira; Tilghman, James; Hurtt, Steve; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This thesis examines the history and types of American Horse Farms and Equestrian Centers. The design strategy will employ the best practices to create a proposal for revitalization of an historic horse farm, enhanced by the utilization of technology, sustainability practices, and preservation, all of which can be applied to any equestrian farm. By studying successful precedents and the current and projected best practices, the best practices can be applied to a proposed preservation and enhancement of the forty-four acre Reddemeade Equestrian Center in Silver Spring, Maryland.Item DYNAMIC SPACES: INTEGRATING PRESERVATION AND DESIGN AT KNIGHTS FERRY(2013) Neuhauser, Stephen; Rockcastle, Garth; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Integrating the disciplines of Historic Preservation and Architectural Design can provide opportunities to re-vision cultural and building traditions in a modern context. To demonstrate how these opportunities can be met, this thesis will explore the transformation of an abandoned historic mill building in Knights Ferry, California, into an olive orchard and oil production center. The design will create flexible spaces for use by the community and visitors, introduce a new economic foundation on which a renaissance could be built, and provide an opportunity to revitalize and repurpose ruins that have fallen into disuse, combining them with new buildings, landscapes, and reasons for being. This thesis maintains that by recovering and revitalizing disused historic places in a sensitive and dynamic manner we can ensure that these places not only remain relevant, but encourage the creative evolution of history and tradition.Item Adaptive Reuse of the Seaholm Power Plant: Uniting Historic Preservation and Sustainable Practices(2011) Meltzer, Emily Dana; Rockcastle, Garth; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Current historic preservation regulations and sustainability systems rarely overlap for a common goal. Historic properties have many inherently sustainable qualities, none of which are capitalized upon by either regulatory body. As sustainability becomes more essential in our modern world, these two industries must come together. This thesis will study how these two may unite to utilize best practices in reusing historic structures. After studying current sustainability and historic preservation frameworks, a set of values that, when present, formulate holistic sustainability, were created. These values, broken in to economic, environmental and cultural benefits come together for an innovative and education design. Based on these values, a new Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standard for Historic Properties was created, including a new Social Justice category. These theories were then tested in an adaptive reuse design project for the historic Seaholm Power Plant in Austin, TX.Item Renewing Community in College Park(2009) Kramer, Kimberly Albright; Kelly, Brian; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The Calvert School served the city of College Park for more than 50 years. Now vacant, the building still sits at the heart of the historic College Park community. Adaptively reusing this well-loved building as a community center will bring new life to the building and site and provide a much-needed center for community activities in College Park. Reusing an existing building will also help to conserve economic and environmental resources, as well as preserving a visual artifact of the history and sense of community that bind the neighborhood. This thesis explores and proposes a variety of approaches to adaptive reuse and building for community, attempting to find a design strategy that suits the building, the site, the community and the proposed program, while balancing aesthetics and functionality with cultural, historical and environmental responsibility.