Digital Commons Network^™

China's Soft Power Aims In South Asia: Experiences Of Nepalese Students In China's Internationalization Of Higher Education, Romi Jain

ETD Archive

Internationalization of higher education is a major characteristic of China's higher education policy. Accordingly, the Chinese government is fervently encouraging the spread of Chinese language and culture through Confucius Institutes, student exchange programs, recruitment of international students, and international collaborations. South Asia is no exception to China's higher education outreach. Against this background, this qualitative study examined experiences of South Asian students with regard to China's higher education program(s) in relation to the explicit and implicit aims of China's soft power policy. Soft power refers to the power of attraction and co-optation, which is based on a nation's intangible resources …

The Gathering Storm: The Role Of White Nationalism In U.S. Politics, Genie A. Donley

ETD Archive

White nationalism has played a critical role in shaping United States politics for over 150 years. Since the Reconstruction era, whites have fought to maintain their power and superiority over minorities. They influenced U.S. politics by attempting, and in some cases succeeding, to prevent minorities from voting. Moreover, politicians began to help them. This became most evident in the 2016 U.S. presidential election when Republican Donald J. Trump appealed to racist white voters, gained their support, and won the election. Those voters, who united as the Alt-Right, supported Trump because he appealed to them by playing on their fear of …

A Cultural Approach: Judaism And Its Effects On Moses Soyer’S Paintings And Drawings, Rachel Arzuaga

ETD Archive

In July of 1966, Harold Rosenberg published his often-cited article, “Is There a Jewish Art?.” Rosenberg’s inquiry continues to spark debate on the existence and merit of labeling art as Jewish. Rather than attempting to provide an answer for the question posed by his article, this thesis instead contemplates the ways in which Judaism might shape an artist’s body of work, in particular, that of Social Realist Painter Moses Soyer. Considering that many of the most notable American Social Realist painters of the twentieth-century share a common Jewish ancestry, it is important to analyze the possible significance of their shared …

Fighting The Germans. Fighting The Germs: Cleveland's Response To The 1918-1919 Spanish Flu Epidemic, Haakon Bjoershol

ETD Archive

Epidemics and disease are often overlooked in historical inquiries. This is unfortunate for a number of reasons. First of all, people's beliefs about what causes disease, as well as their ideas about how to respond to disease, are intrinsically linked to culture, philosophical convictions, and identity. Secondly, the ways a society respond to disease and epidemics largely reflect existing ideologies, values, social structures, and various needs and interests. In short, medical history is a tremendously helpful lens for studying political, economic, social, and ideological aspects of cultures and societies.This thesis looks at Cleveland's response to the 1918-19 Spanish Influenza epidemic. …

The Transformation Of Tibetan Artists' Identities From 1959-Present Day, Michelle Elizabeth Meno

ETD Archive

The notion of Tibetan art as a preservation of the Shangri-La culture that existed before Chinese occupation is a pervasive ideology among western scholars. Buddhist thangka paintings were and still are an important aspect of Tibetan heritage and sense of identity. This paper, however, focuses on the shifting roles of Tibetan artists from the onset of the Chinese "liberation" of Tibet in 1959 to present day. The tremendous lack of scholarship on contemporary Tibetan artists, including both those who still live in the Tibetan Autonomous Region and those who have traveled abroad, has served as a catalyst for the research …

The Leprous Christ And The Christ-Like Leper: The Leprous Body As An Intermediary To The Body Of Christ In Late Medieval Art And Society, Jenna Noelle Ogden

ETD Archive

I will argue that the leprous body was an intermediary to the body of Christ in the minds of late medieval viewers. They could utilize this accessible body as a tool to cultivate a closer relationship with Christ. I will explore imagery of Christ and lepers created in England, Flanders, France, Germany, and Italy from 1300 through 1500 to demonstrate my argument. I will compare representations of the Flagellation of Christ and Christ as the Man of Sorrows to images of Christ healing lepers in order to show that the leprous body could be understood as a substitute for the …

The Good People Of Newburgh: Yankee Identity And Industrialization In A Cleveland Neighborhood, 1850-1882, Judith A. Mackeigan

ETD Archive

In 1850 the village and township of Newburgh, six miles southeast of Cleveland was a farming community sparsely populated by families who were predominantly of New England descent. Within two decades several iron and steel mills had been erected just north of the village, while a large state hospital for the mentally ill had been built just south of the village. The population of the area increased dramatically as English, Welsh, Irish, and finally Polish immigrants arrived to work in the mills. In 1873 the village of Newburgh and much of the surrounding township was annexed by the city of …

The Only Common Thread: Race, Youth, And The Everyday Rebellion Of Rock And Roll, Cleveland, Ohio, 1952-1966, Dana Aritonovich

ETD Archive

This thesis is a social and cultural history of young people, race relations, and rock and roll music in Cleveland between 1952 and 1966. It explores how the combination of de facto segregation and rock and roll shaped attitudes about race for those coming of age after the Second World War. Population changes during the Second Great Migration helped bring the sound of southern black music to northern cities like Cleveland, and provided fertile ground for rock and roll to flourish, and for racial prejudice to be confronted. Critics blamed the music for violence, juvenile delinquency, and sexual depravity, among …

Hrotsvit Of Gandersheim: Her Works And Their Messages, Kathryn A. Mcdonald-Miranda

ETD Archive

Hrotsvit of Gandersheim, a poetess and playwright during the tenth century, created a body of work that both reflected and instructed people in her society. During this period, Europe witnessed extensive societal changes including the reemergence of the Holy Roman Empire, the eastward expansion of Christianity, and a cultural development known as the Ottonian Renaissance. The imperial court, emphatic sponsors of the arts, approved of the legends, dramas, and histories written by Hrotsvit as Christian alternatives to popular pagan literature. The following text presents interpretations of the legends and dramas identifying how they functioned as didactic devices intended to cultivate …

Arme Blanche And Revolver: The French-Austrian School Of War, The Frontier And The United States Cavalry, Michael E. Bryant

ETD Archive

This thesis is a study of United States Army war fighting doctrine, tactical and strategic, and weapons in the years 1815 to 1861. The primary emphasis is upon the mounted forces, specifically the Dragoon, Mounted Rifles and Cavalry Regiments. The most traditional branch of the 19th Century Army, the Cavalry, was largely American in design albeit conventional in nature, not following any specific European model. As with the rest of the Antebellum Army, however, France was the wellspring for tactical and strategic doctrine, military instruction and weaponry. In order to answer the long debated question of why the Union defeated …

Building In The Styles Of Their Time: Fugman, Cramer And Uhlrich, Rebecca L. Barrett

ETD Archive

The impetus for this project was an unsual promotional book by an obscure local architectural firm. Greater Cleveland Architecture by Godfrey Fugman and C. Frank Cramer presented a unique glimpse into the nearly forgotten firm. Its meticulously photographed, pristine images of buildings in their intended environment provided crucial visual primary source material for my work. Investigating the firm of Cramer and Fugman (1887-1896) naturally led to its successor firm of Fugman and Uhlrich (1899-1903). Primary research was conducted working with building permits, newspapers and periodicals of the profession such as Inland Architect and Builder, Interstate Architect, and Ohio Builder and …

The Euclid Heights Allotment: A Palimpsest Of The Nineteenth Century Search For Real Estate Value In Cleveland's East End, William C. Barrow

ETD Archive

The Euclid Heights Allotment was a late nineteenth century predecessor to the Van Sweringen brothers' Shaker Heights development, anticipating many of the themes of its more famous successor. Located on the heights overlooking Case Western Reserve University, Euclid Heights was the first elite subdivision to marry new electric streetcar technology with the romantic appeal of Cleveland's heights and provide a sheltered, restricted residential community for the wealthy citizens gradually moving out Euclid Avenue to the University Circle area.

This allotment, in its various phases, was not the first use of the site, either for land speculation or allotments. Borrowing the …