Hello everyone,

As you all have pointed out, the Dick Dowling monument diverges from other Civil War monuments in important and interesting ways. Your classmates have intriguing ideas about why this might be so, and what these differences might mean.

Courtney and others point out how unusual it was that Dowling’s Irish heritage was emphasized, and ask what this might reveal about the status of Irish citizens in Houston at the time.

Stephanie notes that the many differences between the Dowling statue and typical Civil War monuments may mean that this monument was designed to achieve different goals entirely.

As Victor explains, the Dowling memorial at Sabine pass emphasizes vigor and masculinity, while the Houston statue depicts Dowling as a “more placid” and civilized gentleman. Was this more a reflection of the ideals of those who erected the statue, or might it reveal anything about conceptions of gender in early 20^th century Houston more generally?

This entry was posted on Friday, January 21st, 2011 at 8:07 pm and is filed under Blog Post Round-ups. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.