Table Of ContentPICTURING OURSELY ES: PHOTOGRAPHS OF
BELGIAN AMERICANS IN NORTI-IEASTERN WISCONSIN, 1888-1950
by
Monique Berlier
An Abstract
Of a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the Doctor of
Philosophy degree in Mass Communications
in the Graduate College of
The University of Iowa
May 1999
Thesis supervisors: Professor Hanno Hardt
Professor Albert D. Talbott
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The dissertation looks at amateur photography within a cultural-historical
framework. Specifically, it uses a case-study approach to explore the visual records left
by photographers-the majority of whom are amateurs-in a community of Belgian
immigrants in rural Wisconsin between 1880 and 1950. The visual historical text is
exammed to see how a relatively unknown group of settlers perceived themselves, their
families, their rural community, and the time period in which they lived.
Three major premises guide this work. First, photographs are cultural artifacts
whose creation and interpretation are subject to culturally defined rules and
conventions. Adopting this perspective, the dissertation views photographs as the
results of specific choices of the photographer and his or her subjects within a specific
cultural, social, and historical context. Second, amateur photography is a medium in its
own right, and the visual records produced by nonprofessionals constitute informative
statements about the lives of the photographer and the photograph's subjects. Tirird,
because each photograph is by nature historical, a body of related images placed within
historical context can help form a valid narrative for study of past mentalities.
In addition to using vernacular photographs, the study draws from a variety of
sources, such as newspapers, censuses, immigrant letters, oral history, and consular
reports. The photographs are also discussed in relationship to better known depictions
of immigrant experience and rural life by professional artists, among whom Andrew
Dahl, Jacob Riis, Lewis Hine, F.S.A. photographers, and Jean-Frarn;ois Millet.
By focusing on photographs, this project addresses several scholarly needs,
including more research on amateur photography as a medium of communication, more
systematic use of photographs as a means of recovering history, and further study of
rural settlements of European immigrants. In addition, it makes specific contributions to
the field of women's studies (many of the photographers were farm women), while the
2
emphasis on Belgian-Americans (a little known ethnic group) constitutes a departure
from scholarship that to date, with few exceptions, has dealt principally with more
dominant immigrant groups.
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PICTURING OURSELVES: PHOTOGRAPHS OF
BELGIAN AMERICANS IN NORTHEASTERN WISCONSIN, 1888-1950
by
Monique Berlier
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the Doctor of
Philosophy degree in Mass Communications
in the Graduate College of
The University of Iowa
May 1999
Thesis supervisors: Professor Hanno Hardt
Professor Albert 0. Talbott
Copyright by
MONIQUE BERLIER
1999
All Rights Reserved
Graduate College
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL
PH.D. lBESIS
Titis is to certify that the Ph.D. thesis of
Monique Berlier
has been approved by the Examining -CoVmmiltte e .
for the thesis requirement for the Doctor of
Philosophy degree in Mass Communications aJv
May 1999 graduati .
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Thesis committee: ' ~
esis supervisor
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Thesis supervisor
Member
A mes parents, Sabine Antoine et Louis Berlier;
A la memoire de mes grands-parents, Joseph Berlier et
Alice Lebrun, Arsene Antoine et Marie Schumer
ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am indebted to several individuals who have helped me along the way. I wish
to thank Professor Hanno Hardt for providing guidance when writing this
dissertation and steering me. back in the right direction when I was going off-track.
Many, many thanks also go to Professor Al Talbott for offering warm and steady
support throughout my stay at the University of Iowa and helping me to put things
back into the right perspective. I hope you have forgiven me for not doing a Q-study,
Al. Thanks also to Professor Jeff Smith for sharing relevant source material
(including Geffroy's study) and Professor Kay Amert for carefully editing the final
version of this manuscript. My outside committee member, Professor Shelton
Stromquist, introduced me to the field of immigration and rural studies, commented
on a previous draft of chapter three, and made helpful suggestions for revision.
It was my good fortune to meet Mary Bennett, photo historian at the State
Historical Society of Iowa four years ago. I owe a special debt of gratitude to her. As
a mentor and a friend, Mary showed infinite patience and offered much needed
encouragement throughout the project. She generously shared her resources, time,
insights, and knowledge about history and photography. This work would have
suffered incalculably were it not for her assistance. Still in Iowa City, a special thanks
goes to Bob Burch.field for the copy-editing and to Janice Frey for her input and, most
importantly, her friendship and sense of humor.
iii
Thanks to Shar Grant for providing me with a place to stay in Madison. In
Belgium, merci to Jean Ducat for sharing his knowledge on "nos cousins
d' Amerique," and to family members for patiently answering all the questions I had.
Stopping for dinner at Jim's 54 in Luxemburg, Wisconsin turned out to be a very
good decision, indeed. Not only was Jim's fish plate excellent, but it is also there that
I met Myra Mathu Tlachac. Myra and Jim have provided shelter during my
numerous stays in the Green Bay area, allowing me to transform parts of their
basement into a mini darkroom. Thanks, Jim, for putting up with yet another Belgian
in your house. Myra's enthusiasm for the project, her interest in her Belgian heritage,
and her unrelenting energy have been a source of inspiration to me. At times, they
even dragged me out of bed in the wee hours of the morning. Myra initiated many
of the contacts within the community and I will always remember the pleasure I
experienced during the first ride I took with her and her sister Elaine Wery in the
"Belgian country." Merci, m'feye; e co rnerci, ma bra.£ feye po m'ave fait onne bonne
place din voss majon. Vo m'ave bin aide.
a
Djen rovie nin tot' la communaute: bramin des mercis torto po vos dgentiyesse
po la bauchelle qui rwete de toles castes avu insistance et plaigi toles vis tchiniss de
par la. Special thanks are due to all the individuals and families who kindly hosted
me, shared their family histories and photographs with me, and allowed me to use
their family photographs in this dissertation. Without them, this project would not
be.
When it came time to meld together photographs and manuscript, Professor
Frank Petrella offered to scan all the negatives for me. Than.ks for performing such a
tedious job, Frank. Thanks also to Doug Allaire for providing much needed
computer assistance with a variety of computer programs I did not even know
existed. Finally, I am grateful to the School of Journalism and Mass Communication
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at the University of Iowa for their financial support, including a John F. Murray
Dissertation Scholarship. This project was also partially supported by a T. Anne
Cleary International Dissertation Research Fellowship.
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