From Seed to Cigar: A Cultural Landscape of South-Central Pennsylvania Tobacco
Open Access
Author:
Black, Caitlin
Graduate Program:
American Studies
Degree:
Doctor of Philosophy
Document Type:
Dissertation
Date of Defense:
February 20, 2019
Committee Members:
Anne Ayer Verplanck, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor Anne Ayer Verplanck, Committee Chair/Co-Chair Charles David Kupfer, Committee Member Simon Bronner, Committee Member Joseph James Cecere, Outside Member
Keywords:
Pennsylvania Tobacco Cultural Landscape
Abstract:
This dissertation interprets the cultural landscape surrounding tobacco in south-central Pennsylvania. This cultural landscape incorporates the areas of Lancaster and York Counties and the surrounding areas that were engaged in the growth and marketing of tobacco as well as the manufacturing of cigars. In addition, this research considers the cultural landscape of tobacco as expressed through key periodicals and as influenced by laws and other political actions. Using a careful analysis of the structures associated with this landscape, extensive primary source research, and secondary scholarship pertaining to cultural landscapes, agriculture, gender, and Pennsylvania German culture, this work argues that tobacco has led to a cultural landscape both formed and revealed through issues of agency, power, and visibility. This landscape has been formed through the actions and perceptions of both those inside of the region and those outside of it. In addition, as the economics and cultural perception of tobacco has changed, the landscape surrounding tobacco has grown increasingly fragmented.
