Somaly Tum Spain Today: Film and Fiction Professor Villa, The New School May Levine Hartzman Personal Statement Before this semester, I didn’t know much at all, if anything, about the Spanish Civil War. It was never taught in my previous schools, and it wasn’t until I began my research and watched the 1984 documentary, The Good Fight, that I found out about the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and the thousands of other volunteers who traveled to Spain to fight against fascism. In total, there were about 40,000 volunteers from all over the world. While I was looking online at the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA), I came across a single folder…

Lila Norris Spain Today: Film and Fiction Professor Villa, The New School Charles and Antoinette O’Flaherty Personal Statement I originally chose these papers because of my interest in female involvement in labor movements. Antoinette was an accomplished activist and organizer and her story fascinated me. However, after spending more time with the papers, I gained more of an interest in the brothers. Their early life in Irish Boston and how they were raised to become such interesting and dedicated organizers, protestors, and political activists caught my attention. I wanted to look into what type of person would choose to drop everything and join a band of amateur soldiers in a…

Andie Fortier Cinematic Spain (Fall 2017) Final Essay Professor Sara Villa – The New School David Miller Personal Statement I began my research reading a collection of letters that David Miller himself had written. I began to familiarize myself with his language and his extremely detail oriented, observant writing. Reading these letters allowed me to begin to infer certain things in regards to his experience, but most of all they sparked my curiosity and only pushed me further to ask more questions and find more answers. Many of these questions were answered by the in the Fredericka Martin Papers (ALBA #1 box#19 folder 16). Her correspondences with Miller, as well…

Jane Balfus Cinematic Spain – Fall 2017 Final Essay Prof. Sara Villa – The New School   Alvah Cecil Bessie Alvah Cecil Bessie was born in a wealthy sector of Harlem in 1904 to a Jewish family. His father was an inventor, and also worked in business, which allowed for their affluent lifestyle. Bessie attended Columbia University and majored in English studies. He became involved in a friendship with Eugene O’Neill after college, who was a prominent  member of the Provincetown Players; a group of creatives involved in theatre, that began in Massachusetts. This relationship with O’Neill launched Bessie into a performance career. He acted for almost five years with…

Ross Wheeler Español 37026 Hunter College-CUNY Profesora Hernández-Ojeda James Bernard Rucker Dos grandes obreros heroicos se enfrentan a las puertas del archivo Tamiment, de NYU; pintado de pie, están como acomodadores hacia los documentos, fotos, pósteres, y artefactos que documentan las causas y condiciones laborales en los Estados Unidos hace dos siglos. Los documentos de la colección de la Brigada Abraham Lincoln fueron el interés de la clase. Después de una introducción, la bibliotecaria demostró los métodos de uso e interpretación por contextualización de los materiales históricos. Inicié una búsqueda de los soldados de Bridada Abraham Lincoln y aprendí, por una colección de papeles recogidos para crear el libro African…

Laura Montoya Hons 2011J Hunter College-CUNY Professor María Hernández-Ojeda                                                                                                                                              Jewish Involvement in the Spanish Civil War: The Story of Mark Straus Personal Statement           It is not often one gets the chance to go through primary…

Alyssa Fernandes HONS 2011J Hunter College-CUNY Professor Hernández-Ojeda Charles A. Barr Personal Statement             Before this year I had never heard of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and was surprised to discover that these incredible stories, not yet 100 years old, were not shared more frequently. When tasked with researching the life of one Abraham Lincoln Brigade volunteer, I knew it would be difficult to choose one person from the lengthy list of brave women and men. I decided that I would try to uncover the story of someone less known, who perhaps didn’t acquire much fame but still deserved to be acknowledged.             Within the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives, not…

Sarah Elnewishy HONS 2011J Hunter College-CUNY Professor Hernández-Ojeda Sidney Vogel Personal Statement             In my search for a volunteer to focus my research on, I came across hundreds of individuals with varying occupations and participation in the Spanish Civil War. What drew me to Dr. Sidney Vogel was his passion and dedication to caring for the lives of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade soldiers. In my class on the occurrences of the Civil War, I learned about the disturbing conditions of the International Brigades and their dedication for the cause they were fighting for. I often found myself thinking of the medical professionals that had the job of treating the gruesome…

Kelly Schmaeling HONS 2011J Professor Hernández-Ojeda Hunter College-CUNY Introduction            I came across Emma Goldman’s name while looking for women writers in the Spanish Civil War. While I found many famous male fiction and nonfiction writers (Hemingway, Hughes and Orwell, etc.) that reported on and wrote about the war, there were very few women. I had originally wanted to write this narrative on an author because of my love for literature. I wanted to choose a female because, as a feminist, I wanted to further shed light on the important roles that women played in the Spanish Civil War. When I came across Emma and read…