Empire Imaginary: International Understanding and Progressive Education in the United States A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BY Andrew John McNally IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Kevin Murphy, Adviser August 2017 © Andrew J. McNally 2017 i Acknowledgements The writing of this dissertation was never a linear process. Many experiences far from the archives shaped the project, and the thoughts of many who seemed tangential at the time offered stimulation and support. My current students in Philadelphia tease me for being “obsessed” with Minnesota. But it’s true that, despite the contentions of PhD life, the years I spent in graduate school were years in which I spent time with many whom I admired and respected. The stereotype holds that PhD means professionalization, hyper-specialization, and dissertation completion, but I have been fortunate that my experiences reveal so many with an abiding dedication to principle and intellectual community. If it’s true that the writing of a dissertation is a thankless occupation, all the truer of those who support its writing. First, no student can thank enough the often unheralded training that faculty invest in graduate education; that holds especially true for those who have served on my committee. Thanks most of all to Kevin Murphy for his endless generosity. When I was an undergraduate, Kevin’s work piqued my fascination with the innovative scholarship that was possible in cultural history. As any graduate student in American Studies will say, Kevin’s ability to show both extraordinary kindness and integrity has inspired me to live my teaching and scholarship to his example. The feedback that he provided on early drafts was formative, as was his work developing a dissertation writing group with Reg Kunzel and Jigna Desai. Elaine May’s scholarship opened the doors for many aspiring historians, including myself, to understand the intersections of cultural and political history in exciting ways. Her Cold War seminars provided a foundation for thinking about the broader historical contexts of this dissertation. As a faculty member, her astounding diligence and stimulating questions continue to inspire. Malinda Lindquist’s seminars “Comparative Masculinities” and “Intellectual History of Race” provoked challenging conversations about race and gender which shaped many of the priorities for my scholarship; her readings are some that I keep and cherish to this day, and her probing questions sparked new ideas. Mary Vavrus’s “Media and War” seminar sparked my interest in the relationship between peace movements and cultural studies, and provided a basis for identifying an important place for critical media studies in this work. Other faculty provided tremendous help in many forms. John Wright’s Harlem Renaissance course introduced me to some of the literary criticism skills which I most cherish. Bianet Castellanos’ Teaching Practicum, which I often remark was the best course that I took in graduate school, not only helped me refine some of the pedagogical principles which I carry to this day, but also made me more conscientious of sociopolitical contexts of teaching within the university. Riv-Ellen Prell’s compassionate yet tough questions in her Dissertation Seminar helped to refine a much earlier version of the dissertation into a more focused scholarly agenda. Second, I have to thank the specialists without whom archival work would be impossible. No segment of academics, in my experience, have proven more reliable, ii helpful, competent, or underappreciated than special collections librarians. Eira Tansey of the University of Cincinnati Archives and Rare Books Library especially offered helpful assistance in reviewing the Doris Twitchell-Allen Papers from the moment that I emailed her; Sydney Vollman, Kevin Grace and Suzanne Reller offered support and hospitality as well. When I ended up via MegaBus at an AirBnB a two hour walk away from the film archive facility at Indiana University in Bloomington, Andy Uhrich offered to drive me to the site, diligently prepared a finicky set of films, taught me how to operate a Steenbeck, and offered helpful suggestions and good natured humor. For their dedication, discipline, and tireless effort, I have every thanks in the world to give to the team of archivists at the University of Chicago Special Collections. Third, I am grateful to the Department of American Studies for generously supporting six years of study. Particularly helpful were two summer research support fellowships, one in the form of the Mulford Q. Sibley Fellowship in the summer of 2011, which allowed me to conduct early archival research which led to the dissertation, and the other in the form of Summer Dissertation Writing funding, which allowed me to complete some of the final chapters of the dissertation. I also thank the Graduate School of the University of Minnesota for Thesis Research Grant funding that helped complete some of the essential archival studies in this dissertation. Fourth, while they may not have read chapter drafts or served as traditional inspirations, I’m grateful to the dozens of students, administrators, and faculty outside of the College of Liberal Arts whom I met in the years that I spent volunteering for the graduate student worker unionization effort, and after, in contributing to student government. Although it may seem corny, the experience of articulating views to people who never shared the same intellectual principles, as well as engaging in a shared pursuit of a better academy, genuinely became the place in which I found a clearer writing voice and more grounded sense of the contemporary relevance of a history of learning. Learning the intricacies of how university administrations work certainly served as a distraction at times, but more often it challenged me to find new urgency in writing a cultural history of education. For teaching me so much about organizing in a university context, I have to thank organizers of the original unionization effort, including David Morawski, Scott Thaller, Melody Hoffman, Joanna Delaune, Lauren Deland, Marla Zubel, and Charmaine Chua. In COGS, Aaron Beek, Emily Combs, Clemon Dabney, Roberto de Freitas, Celeste Falcon, Joe Getzoff, Nicholas Goldsmith, Ashley Hall, Louise Hamer, Takehito Kamata, Sravanthi Kollu, Jesh Kundem, Laura Matson, Keaton Miller, Scott Petty, Sumitra Ramachandran, Shruti Saxena, Nicole Scott, Norman Shamas, Rob Stewart, P.J. Vangay, Joe Witek, and so many more were great companions who helped me to understand why the work that we do as scholars, in an interdisciplinary context, is meaningful. But they were also inspirations for the dissertation in the sense that they proved that even a small group of dedicated students can make improvements to students’ lives in a climate of disinvestment and discouragement. While university iii administrators rarely receive praise, I have to thank Patricia Jones-Whyte and Sally Gregory Kohlstedt, partly for steering me back to dissertation work when I got a bit too involved with extracurriculars, but also because they represented models of exceptional devotion to the causes of their students. Belinda Cheung, Matt Sumera, Megan Sweet, Amelious Whyte, and many others deserve appreciation for the tremendous time they took to mentor myself and other students and hear our concerns. My fellow graduate students in American Studies, GWSS, History, and Communications offered countless insights, helpful feedback, and a community. Thank you to Amber Annis, Sarah Atwood, Liz Ault, Christine Bachman-Sanders, Myrl Beam, Karisa Butler-Wall, Angela Carter, Chip Chang, Mike Cheyne, Akikwe Cornell, Mia Fischer, Courtney Gildersleeve, Rachelle Henderson, Mingwei Huang, Elliot James, AJ Lewis, Kasey Keeler, Aron Lorber, Lars Mackenzie, Waleed Mahdi, Rose Miron, Brendan McHugh, Katy Mohrman, Ryan Murphy, Tammy Owens, Allison Page, Sharon Park, Kong Pha, Tom Sarmiento, Matthew Schneider-Mayerson, Robert Smith, Sasha Suarez, Raechel Tiffe, Matthew Treon, Reid Uratani, Eli Vitulli, Joe Whitson, Ben Wiggins, Elizabeth Williams, and Lei Zhang. It was only through your collective patience, your collective wisdom, and your collective work to build a better student community that I learned as much as I did during at my time at Minnesota. To Jesús Estrada-Pérez, thank you for your patience, your friendship, and your inspiration to live the truth scrupulously. I miss you much, but your guidance will stick with me forever. Thanks to all friends in the Twin Cities for the hospitality and kindness you’ve shown, including Nicole Conti, Kelly Glader, Sara Mercil, and Elise Sanchez. I owe more than I can say to Lauren Diesch, who came to the Twin Cities with me, supported me through some early years, and has remained a wonderful friend. Thanks to my brother Brendan, who has made things a lot more fun since the move to Philadelphia and has been a great interlocutor in the absence of a bigger intellectual community. Thanks to my Mom, whose expressions of pride have always bolstered me and whose efforts to care have too rarely and insufficiently been repaid. Thanks to my Dad, whose curiosity about the world and passion for working toward justice has become the first lesson I learned about being a historian. Thanks to my grandparents Rege and Marian McNally, who have supported me continuously whose dedication to hard work and generous care have shaped my own view of how to care about people and ideas. Thanks to my grandparents Jan and Bill Billingsley, who sadly couldn’t join me for the ending of this long academic journey but who nevertheless helped me get there at every turn. Finally, thanks to Kirstie, for reminding everyone whom she meets, including me, that we owe it to ourselves to be better at the things that are hardest for us, especially when it comes to the people whom you love. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction. The “Understanding Heart” in the Twentieth Century 1 Chapter One.