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The Mexican-American War (1846-48) is often described as the first major war in US history inspired by the idea of Manifest Destiny. The significance of this war, however, has not been matched by a rigorous scrutiny of its representation in contemporary visual culture. This study hopes to contribute to filling this void through an iconological investigation of three American paintings made in the Düsseldorf Academy, by now canonized and perceived as ultimate visual treatments of the topic. The paper first discusses the war and the public debates surrounding it in the US, then turns to the visual scene and introduces how the war was portrayed in various art forms. Next, it touches upon the artistic milieu of the Düsseldorf Academy in preparation for the analysis of the three paintings to follow. The study argues that these images depart from the American tradition of depicting war through concrete battle scenes. Instead, they offer symbolic representations or allusions, approaching the war in terms of morality, political philosophy and its potential social and economic consequences, while also employing ambiguity to urge viewers to contemplate on the implications of the war. In the meanwhile, they seem to express little if any consideration for the impact of the war on Mexico, its culture, and people.

Starting with a debate in September 2012 on the incorporation of domestic violence as a distinct offence in Hungary's new Criminal Code, the issue of gender and proper womanhood has regularly re-surfaced in statements made by ruling coalition MPs in parliamentary debates. Drawing on discourse analysis, this study investigates a selection of these statements in the context of the government's current policy and public discourse. The paper argues that these discourses outline an essentialist model reflective of a dominant ideology that is traditional, Christian, patriarchal and heteronormative, which, by hinting at women's accountability for certain social ills, also allows for a chain of associations that ultimately results in the subversion of the overall social status of women, dividing and marginalising them further and discrediting any claims or actions aimed at establishing a more egalitarian society in the country.

Starting with a debate in September 2012 on the incorporation of domestic violence as a distinct offence in Hungary's new Criminal Code, the issue of gender and proper womanhood has regularly re-surfaced in statements made by ruling coalition MPs in parliamentary debates. Drawing on discourse analysis, this study investigates a selection of these statements in the context of the government's current policy and public discourse. The paper argues that these discourses outline an essentialist model reflective of a dominant ideology that is traditional, Christian, patriarchal and heteronormative, which, by hinting at women's accountability for certain social ills, also allows for a chain of associations that ultimately results in the subversion of the overall social status of women, dividing and marginalising them further and discrediting any claims or actions aimed at establishing a more egalitarian society in the country.

Contributors: Iiris Aaltio, Irén Annus, George N. Appell, Laura W. R. Appell, Marysol Asencio, Christine Avenarius, Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi, Esben Esther Pirelli Benestad, Emilio Paqcha Benites, Ilana Berger, Deborah L. Best, Harald Beyer Broch, Gwen J. Broude, Judith K. Brown, Margaret Buckner, Mary M. Cameron, Fernando Luiz Cardoso, Maria G. Cattell, Dia Cha, Janet M. Chernela, Richley H. Crapo, Susan A. Crate, William H. Crocker, Shanshan Du, Timothy Dunnigan, Carolyn Pope Edwards, Richard Ekins, Carol R. Ember, Melvin Ember, Pamela I. Erickson, Randi Ettner, Pamela Feldman-Savelsberg, William H. Fisher, Diana Fox, Mary Jo Tippeconnic Fox, Susan Tax Freeman, Rita S. Gallin, Victoria A. Goddard, Joshua S. Goldstein, Alma Gottlieb, Chien-Juh Gu, Timothy M. Hall, Katsuki Harima, Betty J. Harris, Mary Elaine Hegland, Lewellyn Hendrix, Warren M. Hern, Gabriele Herzog-Schröder, Jon Holtzman, James Howe, Armine Ishkanian, William R. Jankowiak, Robert Jarvenpa, Carol Zane Jolles, Marianne Ruth Kamp, Kaisa Kauppinen, Alice Beck Kehoe, Dave King, Laura F. Klein, Lisa Knoche, Kathleen Kuehnast, Asiye Kumru, Lynn M. Kwiatkowski, Oneka LaBennett, Mikael Landén, Lioba Lenhart, Charles Lindholm, Lamont Lindstrom, Bobbi S. Low, Judith Macdonald, Jeannette Marie Mageo, Maxine L. Margolis, Richard A. Marksbury, Frank Marlowe, Nancy McDowell, Bonnie McElhinny, Winifred Mitchell, Brian Montes, Mary H. Moran, Nuno Nodin, Barbara S. Nowak, Robin O'Brian, Regina Smith Oboler, Volodymyr P'yatokha, Lyn Parker, Jakob M. Pastötter, Julia Pauli, Sarah D. Phillips, Debra Picchi, Ulrike Prinz, Aparna Rao, Kathleen C. Riley, Paul Roscoe, Amir Rosenmann, Celia E. Rothenberg, Marilyn P. Safir, Richard Scaglion, Wulf Schiefenhövel, Alice Schlegel, Maureen Trudelle Schwarz, Edwin S. Segal, Susan C. Seymour, Audrey C. Shalinsky, Andrew N. Sharpe, Eric Kline Silverman, Daniel Jordan Smith, John R. Sosa, Allyn MacLean Stearman, Lynn Stephen, Bilinda Straight, David E. Sutton, James M. Taggart, Aud Talle, Myrna Tonkinson, Robert Tonkinson, Rebecca L. Upton, Robert A. Veneziano, Eileen Rose Walsh, William Wedenoja, Glenn E. Weisfeld, Cynthia Werner, Dennis Werner, Barbara A. West, Cynthia Whissell, Tarynn M. Witten, Felice S. Wyndham, Melissa-Ann Yeager, Xiaojian Zhao, Laura Zimmer-Tamakoshi; edited by Carol R. Ember, Melvin Ember (Deceased)

Contributors: Iiris Aaltio, Irén Annus, George N. Appell, Laura W. R. Appell, Marysol Asencio, Christine Avenarius, Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi, Esben Esther Pirelli Benestad, Emilio Paqcha Benites, Ilana Berger, Deborah L. Best, Harald Beyer Broch, Gwen J. Broude, Judith K. Brown, Margaret Buckner, Mary M. Cameron, Fernando Luiz Cardoso, Maria G. Cattell, Dia Cha, Janet M. Chernela, Richley H. Crapo, Susan A. Crate, William H. Crocker, Shanshan Du, Timothy Dunnigan, Carolyn Pope Edwards, Richard Ekins, Carol R. Ember, Melvin Ember, Pamela I. Erickson, Randi Ettner, Pamela Feldman-Savelsberg, William H. Fisher, Diana Fox, Mary Jo Tippeconnic Fox, Susan Tax Freeman, Rita S. Gallin, Victoria A. Goddard, Joshua S. Goldstein, Alma Gottlieb, Chien-Juh Gu, Timothy M. Hall, Katsuki Harima, Betty J. Harris, Mary Elaine Hegland, Lewellyn Hendrix, Warren M. Hern, Gabriele Herzog-Schröder, Jon Holtzman, James Howe, Armine Ishkanian, William R. Jankowiak, Robert Jarvenpa, Carol Zane Jolles, Marianne Ruth Kamp, Kaisa Kauppinen, Alice Beck Kehoe, Dave King, Laura F. Klein, Lisa Knoche, Kathleen Kuehnast, Asiye Kumru, Lynn M. Kwiatkowski, Oneka LaBennett, Mikael Landén, Lioba Lenhart, Charles Lindholm, Lamont Lindstrom, Bobbi S. Low, Judith Macdonald, Jeannette Marie Mageo, Maxine L. Margolis, Richard A. Marksbury, Frank Marlowe, Nancy McDowell, Bonnie McElhinny, Winifred Mitchell, Brian Montes, Mary H. Moran, Nuno Nodin, Barbara S. Nowak, Robin O'Brian, Regina Smith Oboler, Volodymyr P'yatokha, Lyn Parker, Jakob M. Pastötter, Julia Pauli, Sarah D. Phillips, Debra Picchi, Ulrike Prinz, Aparna Rao, Kathleen C. Riley, Paul Roscoe, Amir Rosenmann, Celia E. Rothenberg, Marilyn P. Safir, Richard Scaglion, Wulf Schiefenhövel, Alice Schlegel, Maureen Trudelle Schwarz, Edwin S. Segal, Susan C. Seymour, Audrey C. Shalinsky, Andrew N. Sharpe, Eric Kline Silverman, Daniel Jordan Smith, John R. Sosa, Allyn MacLean Stearman, Lynn Stephen, Bilinda Straight, David E. Sutton, James M. Taggart, Aud Talle, Myrna Tonkinson, Robert Tonkinson, Rebecca L. Upton, Robert A. Veneziano, Eileen Rose Walsh, William Wedenoja, Glenn E. Weisfeld, Cynthia Werner, Dennis Werner, Barbara A. West, Cynthia Whissell, Tarynn M. Witten, Felice S. Wyndham, Melissa-Ann Yeager, Xiaojian Zhao, Laura Zimmer-Tamakoshi; edited by Carol R. Ember, Melvin Ember (Deceased)