{"id":{"repo_id":"carleton","oai_identifier":"oai:carleton.scholaris.ca:20.500.14718/32530"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/carleton/oai:carleton.scholaris.ca:20.500.14718/32530","repository":{"repo_id":"carleton","name":"Carleton University","base_url":"https://carleton.scholaris.ca/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Beneath the "Thin Veneer of Civilization": Evolution, Masculinity, and Race in the Early Twentieth Century United States","abstract":"By the turn of the twentieth century, many Anglo-Saxon American men of a middle class background began to define their identities by appealing to evolutionary thought. Homo erectus nordicus, they believed, was the greatest physical and mental specimen among the races of the world. Yet this narrative of evolutionary greatness through a history of Spencerian struggle in the natural world, defined by popular and scientific literature, seemed at odds with modern civilization. Their grand narrative of natural history stressed the need to engage with nature to embrace one’s authentic identity as a man, in contrast to the degenerative influences of civilization—which had been compromised, they believed, by the unnatural, growing cultural authority of women and immigrants. I argue that these evolutionary narratives of white masculinity portrayed the white male body as powerful yet vulnerable to degeneracy, setting an alarmist agenda for reclaiming a conservative cultural identity for the nation.","abstract_html":"By the turn of the twentieth century, many Anglo-Saxon American men of a middle class background began to define their identities by appealing to evolutionary thought. Homo erectus nordicus, they believed, was the greatest physical and mental specimen among the races of the world. Yet this narrative of evolutionary greatness through a history of Spencerian struggle in the natural world, defined by popular and scientific literature, seemed at odds with modern civilization. Their grand narrative of natural history stressed the need to engage with nature to embrace one’s authentic identity as a man, in contrast to the degenerative influences of civilization—which had been compromised, they believed, by the unnatural, growing cultural authority of women and immigrants. I argue that these evolutionary narratives of white masculinity portrayed the white male body as powerful yet vulnerable to degeneracy, setting an alarmist agenda for reclaiming a conservative cultural identity for the nation.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Massie, Guy Joseph Edward"],"institution":"Carleton University","degree_name":"Master of Arts (M.A.)","degree_level":"Master's","degree_discipline":"History","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014","date_published":"2014","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:34:34Z","subjects":[],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Copyright © 2014 the author(s). Theses may be used for non-commercial research, educational, or related academic purposes only. Such uses include personal study, research, scholarship, and teaching. Theses may only be shared by linking to Carleton University Institutional Repository and no part may be used without proper attribution to the author. No part may be used for commercial purposes directly or indirectly via a for-profit platform; no adaptation or derivative works are permitted without consent from the copyright owner."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["10.22215/etd/2014-10359"],"render_values":[{"text":"10.22215/etd/2014-10359","href":"https://doi.org/10.22215/etd/2014-10359","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14718/32530","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Massie, Guy Joseph Edward"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-04-08T17:45:10Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-04-08T17:45:10Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2014"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Carleton University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["History"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (M.A.)"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright © 2014 the author(s). 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Yet this narrative of evolutionary greatness through a history of Spencerian struggle in the natural world, defined by popular and scientific literature, seemed at odds with modern civilization. Their grand narrative of natural history stressed the need to engage with nature to embrace one’s authentic identity as a man, in contrast to the degenerative influences of civilization—which had been compromised, they believed, by the unnatural, growing cultural authority of women and immigrants. I argue that these evolutionary narratives of white masculinity portrayed the white male body as powerful yet vulnerable to degeneracy, setting an alarmist agenda for reclaiming a conservative cultural identity for the nation."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Beneath the "Thin Veneer of Civilization": Evolution, Masculinity, and Race in the Early Twentieth Century United States"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Massie, Guy Joseph Edward"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-04-08T17:45:10Z"],"dc:date.available":["2025-04-08T17:45:10Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2014"],"dc:description.abstract":["By the turn of the twentieth century, many Anglo-Saxon American men of a middle class background began to define their identities by appealing to evolutionary thought. Homo erectus nordicus, they believed, was the greatest physical and mental specimen among the races of the world. Yet this narrative of evolutionary greatness through a history of Spencerian struggle in the natural world, defined by popular and scientific literature, seemed at odds with modern civilization. Their grand narrative of natural history stressed the need to engage with nature to embrace one’s authentic identity as a man, in contrast to the degenerative influences of civilization—which had been compromised, they believed, by the unnatural, growing cultural authority of women and immigrants. I argue that these evolutionary narratives of white masculinity portrayed the white male body as powerful yet vulnerable to degeneracy, setting an alarmist agenda for reclaiming a conservative cultural identity for the nation."],"dc:identifier.doi":["10.22215/etd/2014-10359"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14718/32530"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher":["Carleton University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright © 2014 the author(s). Theses may be used for non-commercial research, educational, or related academic purposes only. Such uses include personal study, research, scholarship, and teaching. Theses may only be shared by linking to Carleton University Institutional Repository and no part may be used without proper attribution to the author. No part may be used for commercial purposes directly or indirectly via a for-profit platform; no adaptation or derivative works are permitted without consent from the copyright owner."],"dc:title":["Beneath the "Thin Veneer of Civilization": Evolution, Masculinity, and Race in the Early Twentieth Century United States"],"dc:type":["thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["History"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (M.A.)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:34:34Z"}