Topic #1
The Rhetoric of Recovery in America (Prohibition - Present)
Two years after the end of Prohibition, Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith founded Alcoholics Anonymous in Akron, Ohio. Founded upon the traditions of the Oxford Group, a Christian organization established in the early 20th century, Bill and Dr. Smith developed the group’s Twelve Step program. Within twenty five years of its founding, America saw the proliferation of various other mutual aid fellowship organizations, including Narcotics Anonymous, rooted in the twelve-step model. The inception of AA drastically changed the discourse around alcoholism in America, shifting the conversation from alcoholism as choice to a disease; despite the fact that this view was established as early as the late 18th century.* Another interesting facet of the topic is that the AA organization has maintained scrupulous records and archives of its own history.** It would be intriguing to contrast this recorded history with other outside records of the organization.
Sources:
*Rush, Benhamin (1805). Inquiry into the Effects of Arden Spirits upon the Human Body and Mind.
** AA Archives http://www.aa.org/pages/en_US/archives-and-history
Questions that I seek to answer:
- How has the role of religion and the temperance movement impacted the founding of AA and the discourse around recovery in America?
- How has the view on addiction changed from Prohibition until now?
- What does the demographic of those in recovery look like? Is it discriminatory in any way?
- Has the creation of AA aided in perpetuating or dismissing certain stereotypes and societal constructions?
- How has AA been represented in art?
Wish list:
- Personal accounts of recovery from alcoholism/substance abuse in the early 20th century
- A non-AA endorsed history of the organization
Topic #2
The Opium Exclusion Act of 1909
I am interested in exploring the topic of the Opium Exclusion Act, the first federal law regulating non-medical use of a drug, as one of the first ways in which the US government sought to control a certain group of people through the banning of an elicit drug. A precursor to the Chinese and Opium Exclusion Acts, the first piece of opium legislation was actually passed in 1875 by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors; it banned operating and frequenting public opium dens. At the time, it was widely believed that the increase in Chinese population in America was directly correlated to the increase in opium importation, thus the federal legislation attacked both sides of the problem - the people and the drug.
Sources:
- Newspaper recounting the California State Supreme Court decision on Daily Alta Newspaper, July 16, 1887, http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=DAC18870716.2.3
- Gieringer, Dale (1999). The Origins of Cannabis Prohibition in California.
Related Questions:
- How did Chinese immigrants react to this ban?
- What was the exact demographic of opium use at the time of the ban?
- What were the primary goals of the Opium Exclusion Act?
- Did the Exclusion Act go on to fulfill its goals?
- What were the stereotypes surrounding opium use?
Wish List:
- Police arrest reports from opium den raids
- Newspaper and political discourse around the ban of opium dens
- First hand accounts from opium consumption - psychological effects
You have a good selection of sources and opening questions for your research paper.
ReplyDeleteHi Rose, really impressed with your topics! I feel either one of them would make for a super interesting paper. Both seem feasible for the time we are given as well! If you decide to go with the first one, I think perhaps narrowing down your topic even more would be helpful. Right now it sounds like you would like to investigate the intersection between religion, the temperance movement, alcohol and AA AND the representation of AA by itself and others AND AA and stereotypes. This seems like a lot for one paper, so it might be helpful to just select one or two to really get into! As for the other topic that one sounds great as well! If you are looking for a great secondary source to use I recommend "Contagious Divides: Epidemics and Race in San Francisco's Chinatown," by Nayan Shah. I read selections from it last year for my Sources and Methods class and one of the chapters talks quite a bit about opium dens/the Chinese Exclusion act/the Chinese body.
ReplyDeleteRose - love these both. I think the topic of recovery/drug addiction in general has so much to it. An interesting side conversation could be how some campaigns regarding drugs have been super successful -- i.e. the retreat of cigarettes from their staple status in popular culture. That said, I think examining how AA has impacted understandings of social work and handling addiction will be incredibly interesting.
ReplyDeleteBoth of these topics sound really interesting! I think maybe what would be interesting would be to focus on a specific demographic and addition/drugs. A lot of media coverage was given to the changes in policing cocaine now that it's young white teenagers who are getting addicted rather than people of color (now people are pushing treatment rather than punishment). So maybe would be interesting to zero in and see how women are affected by alcoholism? Or how rehab/treatment rhetoric differs when applied to different demographics?
ReplyDeleteSuper excited to see where this goes!
As everyone else said, both of these topics seem really interesting. In terms of the first one, I heard a great RadioLab podcast recently called "Addiction" about Alcoholics Anonymous that could be an interesting perspective for your sources. Additionally, the Opium question could be particularly interesting to do given our proximity to San Francisco. Opium Dens were a huge source of business for Chinatown. Because the Chinese were excluded from so many mainstream jobs, the opium business was very important to them. I think the China Town element could be a very interesting part of your research!
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