The representation and perception of the american railroad : from its heyday to its decline. What reflections does it raise on current transport patterns across the globe?
Contenu
- Titre
- The representation and perception of the american railroad : from its heyday to its decline. What reflections does it raise on current transport patterns across the globe?
- Auteur
- Kourteli, Anaïs
- Abstract
- Why has the railroad, which so greatly contributed to the shaping of American identity through westward expansion and was once a symbol of industrial progress, almost fallen into oblivion in its own country? What were the causes behind its decline? Understanding such a paradox will be the leading quest of this essay and proves particularly relevant in the context of global warming. In the last decades, governments across the globe have seen in the railroad a potential answer to the prevention of transport pollution, thus orienting their politics towards revalorisation plans of passenger rail and freight services. This shift towards more environment-friendly transport policies may lead to question the evolution of the relationship civilisations have had towards transports across history. Through this approach, this essay will focus on the phenomenon of the railroad across American history from its beginnings, to its heyday, until its decline. To explore the evolution of the railroad in America, the point will be to study the history of its symbolism in American culture, either in terms of passenger rail or freight services. Precisely by focusing on the history of visual representation in American railroad advertising and its reception by the American population. From being a revolutionary invention transcending all barriers, to becoming an undefeatable symbol of progress, to eventually standing as a failed attempt of modernisation, this essay will shed light on the numerous metaphormoses the railroad has undergone throughout its existence. More broadly, the second part of this essay will explore the plurality of means of transport and their environmental impact, and, more precisely, how awareness may be brought on the subject through education in the context of the French secondary-school curriculum.
- Mot(s)-Clé(s)
- Railroad history
- American railroad
- Image analysis
- Symbolism
- Advertising
- Transports
- Environment
- Global Warming
- Chemins de fer
- Etats-Unis
- Mobilité durable
- Tutelles
- UPPA-SSH
- ALTER
- INSPE
- Année de soutenance
- 2024
- Responsable(s) pédagogique(s)
- Roussillon-Constanty, Laurence
- Format
- application/pdf
- Langue
- eng
- Type
- Master
- Diplôme + année
- Master 2
- Mention
- MEEF Lettres et Langues
- Discipline principale
- Anglais
- Collections
- MEEF : Anglais
Position : 10061 (1 vues)