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Agency through Otherness: Portraits of Performers in Circus Route Books, 1875-1925Main MenuIntroductionIntroduction to the book and information about ways to navigate the content.The American Experiment: Circus in ContextCircus performers and American history timelineRouting the Circus: The Things They CarriedCircus Routes Map, 1875-1925Ethnological Congresses and the Spectacleby Rebecca FitzsimmonsOutsiders in Demand: Chinese and Japanese Immigrant Performersby Angela Yon and Mariah WahlShattering Gender Roles: Women in the Circusby Elizabeth HarmanSide Show Sounds: Black Bandleaders Respond to ExoticismAnnexed Circus Musicians by Elizabeth C. HartmanNative Performance and Identity in The Wild West Showby Mariah WahlShowmen's Rests: The Final CurtainCircus Cemetery Plots by Elizabeth C. HartmanList of PerformersPerformers covered in this exhibitBibliography & Further ReadingsBibliography and readings for each chapterAcknowledgementsCreative Commons LicenseAngela Yon72f2fd7a28c88ceeba2adcf2c04fee469904c6f1
High Wires and Traveling Shows: Portraits of Performers
12021-04-22T08:29:41-07:00Angela Yon72f2fd7a28c88ceeba2adcf2c04fee469904c6f13829414plain10520132021-05-29T13:34:33-07:00Angela Yon72f2fd7a28c88ceeba2adcf2c04fee469904c6f1Shattering Gender Roles: Women in the Circusby Elizabeth HarmanJust as Afong Moy was exhibited as a living representation of the United States' desire for Chinoiserie, performers traveled and were exhibited across the country. Many of them made lives in the United States and within the circus, forming communities and even building families under the big top. Although their lives were difficult, and often made more difficult by the US policies of the day, they engaged audiences across the nation with their memorable shows. Continue reading to learn more about individual performers and their experiences.
12021-02-24T13:29:05-08:00Angela Yon72f2fd7a28c88ceeba2adcf2c04fee469904c6f1Prince Youturkey: Circus As Community19plain2021-05-05T18:52:18-07:00Angela Yon72f2fd7a28c88ceeba2adcf2c04fee469904c6f1
12021-04-23T10:20:58-07:00Angela Yon72f2fd7a28c88ceeba2adcf2c04fee469904c6f1Moy Kee: Chinese Mayor of America27plain2021-05-19T16:43:20-07:00Angela Yon72f2fd7a28c88ceeba2adcf2c04fee469904c6f1
12021-04-23T09:30:14-07:00Angela Yon72f2fd7a28c88ceeba2adcf2c04fee469904c6f1Chang: "The Chinese Giant"30plain2021-06-22T15:17:38-07:00Angela Yon72f2fd7a28c88ceeba2adcf2c04fee469904c6f1
12021-02-24T13:29:48-08:00Angela Yon72f2fd7a28c88ceeba2adcf2c04fee469904c6f1Albert S. Uyeno: Japanese Performers and WWII28plain2021-05-05T19:01:17-07:00Angela Yon72f2fd7a28c88ceeba2adcf2c04fee469904c6f1
12021-04-21T08:05:29-07:00Angela Yon72f2fd7a28c88ceeba2adcf2c04fee469904c6f1King Sarbro: A Balancing Act14plain2021-05-05T19:02:05-07:00Angela Yon72f2fd7a28c88ceeba2adcf2c04fee469904c6f1
12021-04-23T09:51:15-07:00Angela Yon72f2fd7a28c88ceeba2adcf2c04fee469904c6f1Che Mah: Short-Statured Chinese Performer24plain2025-10-12T03:57:49-07:00Angela Yon72f2fd7a28c88ceeba2adcf2c04fee469904c6f1