Livingstone Undergraduate Research Award in Diversity and Social Justice
Livingstone Undergraduate Research Award in Diversity and Social Justice
Caroline Bland
“Mothers Little Helper” to “Crack Moms”: Public Perception of Women’s Drug Abuse from 1950 to 1990
View Caroline's project online
My project compares the media portrayal and public perception of women with substance abuse disorders throughout the Valium panic of the 1970s and the crack epidemic of the 80s and 90s. I chose these two events specifically because of the primarily affected demographics, middle-class White women in the Valium panic and low-income Black and Hispanic women during the crack epidemic. I found that the women afflicted by addiction to Valium were met with sympathy, while women during the crack epidemic were met with aggressive scrutiny based on a misrepresentation of science used to question their ability to mother.
What is your major and expected year of graduation?
I expect to graduate in May of 2025 with a bachelor’s degree in history with a minor in English.
What inspired you to pursue your project?
The ongoing opioid crisis is a major public health concern that affects everybody, especially here in Philadelphia. I wanted to conduct my research on a topic relating to mid-century drug policy, but it wasn’t until familiarizing myself with the current research that I found what I wanted to focus my thesis on. The history of predatory pharmaceutical marketing towards women, especially in the immediate post-war years, was an interest of mine and I was curious to see how the notion of housewives battling addiction was portrayed in the media. The idea of “crack moms” in the early 90s seemed to entirely contradict this perception, and I found it odd that the two most prominent stereotypes of female addiction were so opposing. I wanted to understand how and why this dichotomy came to be, and found that the answer lies in the intersection of race, class, and gender.
How did the Libraries support your research?
I truly could not thank Temple Libraries enough for the support I received during this research. Between extensive stacks, knowledgeable and helpful staff, and access to all sorts of digital archival materials, the process was far more achievable than if I were to attempt it alone. With all their help, researching was enjoyable and I feel as though I’ve grown significantly as a writer.
The two words that best describe Caroline Bland as a researcher and scholar are engaged and tenacious. Caroline came to the History Capstone Seminar in which she completed her prize-winning paper with a strong interest in learning more about the cultural and political history of drug use in modern America, partly because she’s considering a post-college career in social services or other fields related to this topic. Motivated by an informed and thoughtful desire to understand the roots of contemporary problems and ideas surrounding illegal drug use in greater Philadelphia, Caroline worked tenaciously to refine a focused research topic in this big field and to obtain and analyze an array of evocative sources that provided her with a strong foundation on which to build insightful arguments. The result is a timely, socially engaged, and articulate research paper with a compelling message, one in the best traditions of the Livingstone Prizes.
—Travis Glasson, Associate Professor, Department of History, College of Liberal Arts
This category covers work utilizing humanities or scientific methodologies, involving creative work or literature reviews, but relating in some way to the overall theme of diversity and social justice.
This award is generously sponsored by Gale, a Cengage company.