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Theses and Dissertations

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Browsing Theses and Dissertations by Subject "Colorado"

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    Abiding nourishment: vegetable production and the pursuit of nutritional sovereignty in Colorado
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) McCollum, Sean C., author; Little, Ann, advisor; Childers, Michael, committee member; Martinez, Doreen, committee member
    This thesis explores the various methods of small-scale gardening efforts and the importance of wild and cultivated plant food to the people who have inhabited Colorado. From Arapaho and Cheyenne horticultural practices to the kitchen gardens of the American homesteader, and the vegetable truck of the first generation of Coloradan-Americans, the environment of the Rocky Mountains forced its inhabitants to adapt their methods of planting vegetables and fruit in order to survive. The pursuit of nutritious plant food is the central human-scale endeavor in Colorado's diverse history. This thesis explores the nutritional content of several important vegetables and fruits, their importance to Colorado's inhabitants, and how the environment of Colorado lends itself to the cultivation of fruits and vegetables, while challenging the planter to a nearly extreme degree.
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    Denver goes to the movies: engaging national-scale identity shifts from movie house to movie palace, 1900-1940
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012) Frank, Nichelle, author; Orsi, Jared, advisor; Ore, Janet, committee member; Dickinson, Greg, committee member
    This thesis examines the relationship between film history and movie theater architecture at local and national levels as a window into early twentieth century identity shifts. The argument is that Denver films and movie theaters from 1900 to 1940 manifested national-level identity shifts as well as influenced them. The identity shifts included attitudes of innovation, decadence, and endurance that roughly characterized the 1900s and 1910s, 1920s, and 1930s. These identities represented the dominant identities that were part of the broad shift from nineteenth century frontier identity to post-WWII modern identity. This thesis draws from Denver newspapers, architectural and cinema journals, early film histories, Denver Householder and City Directories, Denver Sanborn Fire Insurance maps, other historic maps, memoirs, and photographs. Through close study of these sources and balancing the national history with Denver history, there emerges a story of how Denverites and Americans have selected ideals to maintain and adopted others as they chase their ever-changing dreams.
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    Spent a little time on the mountain: backcountry ski touring in Utah and Colorado
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Miller, Alexander, author; Childers, Michael, advisor; Carr Childers, Leisl, committee member; Cheng, Tony, committee member
    Backcountry skiing has continually grown as a recreational activity since alpine skiers began leaving developed ski area boundaries in the late 1930s. Placing individuals in a less managed, sometimes hostile, winter landscape creates a significant management issue for the U.S. Forest Service. This thesis examines this issue by looking back to the sport's emergence as a popular winter recreation activity. It asks how ski tourers from the 1960s through the 1980s understood the way they used land. To answer this question, it examines the development of avalanche research and growing avalanche awareness in the Mountain West, the experience backcountry skiers sought and the mentality that created, and how that mentality established an advocacy framework aimed at protecting access to the backcountry—the area outside ski resorts and away from signs of the "works of man." Through this investigation, it highlights how the U.S. Forest Service facilitated this new form of land use, what exactly it is backcountry skiers are using, and how this use informed environmental politics. Finally, it argues that through understanding how the growing backcountry skiing community used mountain landscapes in the past, skiers, land management agencies, and the broader outdoor recreation community, can begin to come to terms with the impacts of this use and how to mitigate them.