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Solidarity And The Soviet Union, Jillian Forrester

History & Classics Student Scholarship

Jillian Forrester ’22
Majors: Global Studies and History
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Margaret Manchester, History and Classics

This project examines the role of the Solidarity trade union in Poland, and its role in the transition of Poland from a Soviet Bloc country to a post-Communist government.

Bermuda’S Maritime Economic, Geographical, And Political Importance And Expansion Leading Up To The Imperial Crisis From 1740 To 1800, Gretchen Richardson

History & Classics Student Scholarship

Gretchen Richardson ’22
Major: History
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Steven Smith, History and Classics

I researched in the archives of Bermuda and the National Museum of Bermuda to uncover the answer to my research question: How did Bermuda fit into the complex puzzle of the Colonies' independence from the British Crown, and how did they, in turn, contribute to Bermuda's success as a remaining British territory? I discovered that Bermudians found themselves dependent on two opposing ends- England and her rebelling colonies. If Bermudians were to pledge allegiance to Congress, they would be declined the privileges of a British subject. Or, …

Changes In The Devadasi Tradition, Danika Bebe

Global Studies Student Scholarship

Danika Bebe ’23
Majors: Global Studies and Public and Community Service
Minor: Business and Innovation
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Trina Vithayathil, Global Studies

This creative research project examines the Devadasi profession in India. It seeks to understand the lived experiences of women who are temple prostitutes in current day India and their experiences of sexual exploitation and abuse. The findings from the research are shared through a poem entitled “around the sun”. A detail description of the stanzas and poem mechanism accompanies the poem.

"In My End Is My Beginning": Families, Factions, Faith And Femininity As The Fatal Inheritance Of Mary Queen Of Scots, Mary Archbold

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

Mary Stuart Queen of Scotland’s long imprisonment and tragic execution has long overshadowed the brilliance of her early political strategy. Crowned and anointed Queen as an infant, raised in France, Mary had the disadvantage of returning to Scotland into a complex and contentious court at the height of the Scottish Reformation and noble power. As a woman, she faced the misogyny and discrimination of her nobles and the prominent preacher, John Knox. Her devotion to her Catholic faith only gave her enemies further ammunition against her. Despite these daunting factors, she managed to maintain a political strategy of factionalism, with …

The Power Of Mothers: A Comparison Of The Egyptian Goddess Isis And Virgin Mary During The Roman Empire Through Literature And Art, Katherine Burdick

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

The Egyptian goddess Isis and the Virgin Mary are two mother figures that were an essential part of Roman culture. Isis rose to prominence in Roman religion when the Republic expanded into Egypt in 30 B.C. She was adopted into the Roman pantheon alongside many other deities from other cultures. Mary rose to prominence in a very different way. A majority of early Christian worship was heavily persecuted and not accepted by many Roman emperors. However, eventually, Christianity eclipsed cult worship of deities. Isis and Mary were both seen as comforting mother figures for not only their sons, Horus and …

Solidarity And The Soviet Union, Jillian Forrester

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

The Solidarity trade union was the first independent, self-governing union to receive recognition under a Communist government. The union itself went beyond simple labor organizing, also becoming a political entity that helped Poland transition to a post-Communist government. The success of this union was due to its status as both union and social movement, as it was able to deeply permeate all aspects of society. Furthermore, the union's successful exploitation of existing social and economic issues in Poland brought the government to the bargaining table and led directly to its great success.

Mit Deutscher Gründlichkeit: The People Behind The World’S Most Effective Police State, Evan Diliberto

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

The Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (Stasi) was the infamous state security service of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR, or East Germany) active from 1950-1989. It was instrumental in keeping the Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands (the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, or the SED) in power for nearly 50 years. Stasi agents engaged in psychological warfare, murder, and torture of perceived enemies, most of whom were citizens of East Germany. The official mission of the Stasi was the maintenance of security of the state, however, the Stasi acted mainly as an ideological enforcer, targeting those with perceived hostilities to the GDR. The …

Augustan War And Peace: Analyzing The Role Of The Military In Maintaining The Pax Augusta In The Augustan Age, Maxwell Hovasse

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

The end of the Roman Republic was affected by decades of civil war, leaving the Roman population desperate for an end to the violence. Augustus’s rise to power was the solution for this violence. Augustus’s victory over Marc Antony both effectively ended the Roman Republic and the long period of civil unrest. As the new sole and undisputed ruler of the Roman world, Augustus sought to bring Rome into an era of peace, which would be known as the Pax Augusta, meaning the Augustan Peace. However, given that the Romans viewed peace as existing when an enemy had been completely …

Terrible Terrell: Black Women’S Activism The Forgotten Story Of Carolyn Daniels, Olivia Moll

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

More often than not, when individuals think of the Civil Rights Movement, idolized individuals like that of Martin Luther King, Ella Baker, and Malcom X, come to mind. While their activism was heroic, their contributions do not and should not represent the entire success of the Civil Rights Movement. The real fuel of the Civil Rights Movement was in the hands of the people, ordinary individuals, more specifically black women. My thesis explores the participation of black women in the movement in a particular region, that of Terrell County, Georgia. In the first chapter, the reader studies the racist and …

A Genealogy Of Ideas: From Transcendentalism Onward, Jakob Resnik

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

Most, if not all, fields of study operate almost like a conversation. Significant figures influence those after them and were themselves influenced by their predecessors. Philosophy, as a broader academic discipline, is no exception to this. Generally when the function of intellectual influence is considered it is only between pairs of notable thinkers. By treating the subject genealogically a historian can uncover significantly longer chains of influence. This paints an international and intergenerational picture that accounts for the ways various ideas have evolved, who they shifted through, and how different people played a role in the formation of subsequent philosophers. …

The Obedient Servants Of Opportunity: Bermudians In The Revolutionary Eighteenth Century Atlantic World, Gretchen Richardson

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

On August 14th, 1775, Bermudian elites and their slaves discreetly carried gunpowder from the island’s magazine onto two Rebel ships. The island’s Gunpowder Plot was organized by Colonel Tucker, the elite family’s patriarch, and members of the Continental Congress, like Benjamin Franklin. Under the terms of this plot, the Bermudians would supply the Continental Army with 100 barrels of gunpowder in exchange for exemption from Congress’ trade embargo and would receive provisions such as food. This negotiation, along with other illicit trade between the island and the rebelling Thirteen Colonies next door, raises the question: how did the British island, …

Rebranding The Native: Selling The ‘Ideal’ Indigenous Worker At The Carlisle Indian Industrial School, 1879-1918, Luke Prior

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

Brigadier General Richard Henry Pratt of the United States Army established the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in 1879, which was the foundation the United States federal government used to establish over twenty-five similar schools. From its founding to its closure in 1918, every aspect of the Carlisle School, whether curriculum or even football, sought to create an ‘ideal’ Indigenous worker that was sold to America as the new stereotypical Native American. To reach this goal, Carlisle stripped its students of their cultures by cutting their hair, changing their dress, restricting their use of native languages, and teaching from an American …

Let Us March On: Lavilla, Florida, And The History Of The Harlem Of The South, Christine Sullivan

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

Jacksonville, Florida, is a city that defies most expectations of an American city. Its massive size covers a vast array of people, cultures, and traditions. Jacksonville’s colorful history encompasses stories of success, failure, and control by three different nations. This diversity of people and backgrounds overwhelms Jacksonville’s narrative, leaving stories and memories forgotten. No more groups have been forgotten or overlooked in Jacksonville’s story more than the Black natives and residents. LaVilla, a neighborhood in downtown Jacksonville, is the historically Black community that has been consistently left out of Jacksonville’s story. LaVilla, known as the ‘Harlem of the South’, was …

“Doe As Thou Wouldst Be Done By”: Relief Responses To Mental Illness In Puritan New England, Rebecca Farias

History & Classics Dissertations and Masters Theses

The emergent historical field of early American disability studies has catalyzed discussion on the mental and physical impairments that contributed to America’s cultural, medical, social, and economic foundations. How can historians tell an accurate story of mental illness, grounded in the narrative of America’s founding, and situate mental illness within disability studies? Literary and linguistic categories of analysis, presented in this thesis, can help historians begin to unpack disability in early modern New England.

The New England Puritan welfare model formed a basis of American disability ideology, a framework that persisted well until the 1800s. This article seeks to dispel …