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Frontier: Land, Architecture, And Abstraction, Jacob Boatman Jun 2024

Frontier: Land, Architecture, And Abstraction, Jacob Boatman

Masters Theses

The abstraction of land is a colonial process by which physical land is transformed into a conceptual or symbolic entity. This transformation occurs through various economic, architectural, and cultural practices that imbue land with abstract values, meanings, and functions beyond its physicality. This includes the division of land into parcels for economic transactions, the design and construction of built environments that shape human interactions with the land, and the cultural narratives and representations that ascribe significance to particular landscapes. Through abstraction, colonial powers devalue indigenous perspectives and relationships to the land, reducing them to mere obstacles in the path of …


Eisenhower, Kennedy, And America's Covert Military Operations In Laos, Russell Stevenson May 2024

Eisenhower, Kennedy, And America's Covert Military Operations In Laos, Russell Stevenson

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Summer 1963: Roger Hilsman's plane pierced the clouds to reveal the Plaines des Jarres, a flat area strewn with the remains of age-old rock jars. The plains below showed signs of the batterings of war: slit trenches, bunkers, and a network of roads. The weather was dry and arid, and the terrain resembled a ghost town in the American West more than the "land of a million elephants"-an allusion to the tremendous war machine of a medieval Lao king.


Profiles In Influence: Shaping American Perceptions, Attitudes, And Policy Towards China, Benjamin Merritt May 2024

Profiles In Influence: Shaping American Perceptions, Attitudes, And Policy Towards China, Benjamin Merritt

Masters Theses

Pearl Buck, Henry Luce, Edgar Snow, and Richard Nixon have profoundly influenced Sino-American relations throughout the 20th century. Their impact on American perceptions, attitudes, and foreign policy has played a pivotal role in shaping the current state of relations between the United States government and the People’s Republic of China. Pivotal historical events such as WWI & WWII, the Sino-Japanese War, China’s Civil War, and the Soviet-Sino conflict—among other events—have also significantly influenced the dynamics of Sino-American relations. Despite their importance, there is a notable absence of studies that comprehensively explore the collective impact of these individuals and events. Understanding …


"Across The Atlantic": How World War Ii Changed British Public Opinion Of Americ, Lexi Edgar May 2024

"Across The Atlantic": How World War Ii Changed British Public Opinion Of Americ, Lexi Edgar

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

It was July 4,1951. Exactly 175 years earlier, America had boldly proclaimed its independence from Great Britain and entered a fierce and desperate struggle to separate itself from the mother country. Yet on this day, reminiscent of the division of the two nations, Americans and Brits came together in London to celebrate their unity. They gathered to dedicate the Roll of Honor, a book containing the names of the 28,000 American soldiers who gave their lives in Great Britain during World War II.


Secrets, Soviets, And Sverdlovsk: Critiques Of The Biological Weapons Convention And Biosecurity In The 1970s And 1980s, Morgan Kelley Apr 2024

Secrets, Soviets, And Sverdlovsk: Critiques Of The Biological Weapons Convention And Biosecurity In The 1970s And 1980s, Morgan Kelley

Student Research Submissions

The Biological Weapons Convention, initially ratified in 1975, banned the production and stockpiling of biological weapons; however, it has faced considerable modern criticism for being unenforceable and not strong enough to ensure states' compliance. These modern critiques are based on the knowledge that the Soviet Union was in violation of the Convention, which was not confirmed until 1989. By analyzing the reactions to the Biological Weapons Convention by scholars and scientists, American intelligence officials, and American news media, it becomes clear that concerns about the Convention did exist prior to 1989, even when for many it was not certain that …


A Method To The Madness Iraqi Strategy And Diplomacy In The Persian Gulfwar, James D. Smith Mar 2024

A Method To The Madness Iraqi Strategy And Diplomacy In The Persian Gulfwar, James D. Smith

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Most Americans are familiar with the essentials of the Persian Gulf War: Iraq invaded Kuwait, triggering a massive buildup of American troops in Saudi Arabia. These troops eventually invaded Kuwait and drove out the Iraqis, who fled in terror before the American juggernaut. Beyond this, few Americans know much. The war is, perhaps, too recent to have developed the wide interest that currently exists in older conflicts such as the Civil War or World War II; the textbook-worthy strategies employed by General Norman Schwartzkopf's forces therefore go largely unnoticed by the public at large.


From Compromise To Confrontation: The American Secretary Of State James F. Byrnes And His Attempts To Mitigate Disagreements With The Soviet Union As The Cold War Began, John Karl Mar 2024

From Compromise To Confrontation: The American Secretary Of State James F. Byrnes And His Attempts To Mitigate Disagreements With The Soviet Union As The Cold War Began, John Karl

Comparative Civilizations Review

James F. Byrnes as United States Secretary of State pursued a policy based on compromise with the Soviet Union during the first year following the end of the Second World War. He was determined to use his political skill for engineering compromise in order to bring about an agreement with the Soviet Union which would lead to an era of peace. While the crucial question facing American policymakers in the wake of World War II was the creation of a new world order, a most important part of this question was the future of American-Soviet relations, the two nations that …


Apotheosis Of The State And The Decline Of Civilization: A Systems Approach, Robert Bedeski Mar 2024

Apotheosis Of The State And The Decline Of Civilization: A Systems Approach, Robert Bedeski

Comparative Civilizations Review

Humanity is undergoing a second Axial Age. The first, as described by Karl Jaspers, brought transcendence into the vision and self-understanding of humans and the world. The rise of secularism and “Death of God” is dissolving and fragmenting that transcendence — a vital subsystem of the civilization system. Economy, knowledge and government comprise three additional subsystems and have coalesced to form the modern sovereign state, diminishing the traditional place of religion, art and philosophy in civilizations. An example of a state lacking common institutions of transcendence was the Mongol empire. Ruling Russia for a quarter millennium, its state form was …


Swiss Impact Feb 2024

Swiss Impact

Swiss American Historical Society Review

SWISS IMPACT highlights Switzerland's positive impact across the United States. We invite you to learn more about Swiss innovation, economic relations, sustainability, our culture, and the international partnership with the United States.


The 1904 World’S Fair: Intended Impact Of The U.S. Government Building Versus Visitor Experience, Dalton King Jan 2024

The 1904 World’S Fair: Intended Impact Of The U.S. Government Building Versus Visitor Experience, Dalton King

Undergraduate Research Symposium

The 1904 Saint Louis World’s Fair, known as the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, has long been known for its significant impact on America and the world. This research explores the intended purpose of the 1904 World’s Fair’s United States Government Building and its exhibits of the War and Navy Departments. Furthermore, this analysis investigates the visitor experience of the Government Building’s characteristics and exhibits. During the Progressive Era, American society was undergoing a significant paradigm shift through countless evolutions in industry, technology, and culture, and this research contextualizes historical study of the time. Though the recent body of literature revolves around …


“For The Benefit And Enjoyment Of The People”?: The Imperial Nature Of The United States National Park System, Mitchell Macdonald Jan 2024

“For The Benefit And Enjoyment Of The People”?: The Imperial Nature Of The United States National Park System, Mitchell Macdonald

Major Papers

As the founders of national parks, the National Parks and National Park Service of the United States are monoliths on the global stage, inspiring all other national parks worldwide. Ever since the first park was created in 1872 at Yellowstone, Wyoming, people have been captivated by the idea of going into a land that is supposedly unspoiled by man. In a world where fossil fuels and industry are having extremely adverse effects on the global environment, the existence of land that has been set aside and protected is essential for global health. Yet, viewing national parks as institutions that are …


Guide To The Godwin Sadoh Collection, Columbia College Chicago Jan 2024

Guide To The Godwin Sadoh Collection, Columbia College Chicago

CBMR Collection Guides / Finding Aids

Dr. Godwin Sadoh is a Nigerian composer, educator, church musician, organist, pianist, choral conductor, and ethnomusicologist. He holds music degrees from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria; the University of Pittsburgh; the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; and Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, where he became the first African to receive a doctoral degree in organ performance from any institution in the world. The collection holds scores, publications, books, and recorded music


The United States And The Need For An Improved Global Citizenship In The Twenty-First Century: How History Shaped Our Identity As A Nation, Karin Mika Dec 2023

The United States And The Need For An Improved Global Citizenship In The Twenty-First Century: How History Shaped Our Identity As A Nation, Karin Mika

Cleveland State Law Review

This Article describes how accidents of geography and history enabled the United States to become the global power that it has become. It examines how the extended warring in Europe during the Eighteenth and Nineteenth century allowed the United States to develop as a country without the repeated necessity of continually rebuilding, as was happening in Europe. The Article explores how the isolation of the United States enabled it to develop continuity in its initially experimental political system—a continuity that was never available to Europe. These factors enabled the United States to be in the position of being able to …


Imagining The “Day Of Reckoning”: American Jewish Performance Activism During The Holocaust, Maya C. Gonzalez Nov 2023

Imagining The “Day Of Reckoning”: American Jewish Performance Activism During The Holocaust, Maya C. Gonzalez

Masters Theses

Scholars of American Jewish history have long debated the complicity of the American Jewish community in the loss of six million Jewish lives in Europe during the Holocaust. After Hitler took power in 1933, American Jewish leaders took to the streets to protest the Nazi Party’s abuse of German Jews. Two central figures in this history are Reform Rabbi Stephen Wise and Revisionist Zionist Ben Hecht because of their wide-reaching protest movements that operated in competition with each other. Although the historiography presents Wise and Hecht's inability to unite as the product of difference, my examination of their protest performances …


Guide To The Andrew “Andy” Gibbons Collection, Columbia College Chicago Jul 2023

Guide To The Andrew “Andy” Gibbons Collection, Columbia College Chicago

CBMR Collection Guides / Finding Aids

Focused on jazz trumpeter and vocalist, Louis Armstrong, the Andrew H. Gibbons collection consists of sound recordings, papers, and books related to Louis Armstrong, collected by the donor, Dr. Andy Gibbons, whose research focus centered on the performer.


The Queer Life Of Lorena Hickok, Samantha D. Leyerle Jun 2023

The Queer Life Of Lorena Hickok, Samantha D. Leyerle

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis explores the life of Lorena Hickok, a remarkable woman whose story has been glossed over throughout history. Hickok was an accomplished journalist and writer, and her life offers a fascinating glimpse into being queer in the early twentieth century. While much has been written about Hickok’s relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt, this thesis aims to go beyond their connection to examine Hickok’s entire life and experiences in greater detail. Through analyzing her work as a writer, as well as her personal correspondence and unpublished autobiography, this thesis illuminates the quiet details of defining moments in history, including the Great …


The Intellectual And Diplomatic Discourse Of American Progressives And The Late Ottomans, 1830–1930, Brigitte Maricich Powell May 2023

The Intellectual And Diplomatic Discourse Of American Progressives And The Late Ottomans, 1830–1930, Brigitte Maricich Powell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The American intellectual and diplomatic discourse with the late Ottoman Empire is an understudied field of history. Major works to date are primarily focused on the US relations with the Turkish Republic starting in 1924, which at best may highlight the Barbary Wars and the Treaties of 1830 and 1862 as a precursor. Few works offer, if any, a comprehensive insight into the diplomatic relationship that evolved between the US and the Near East from 1830 to 1930. This research is meant to fill the absence by probing into the service of key American diplomats and intellectuals who visited and …


Thinking On A Higher Plane: The Evolution Of A Strategic Mindset In The Navies Of America And Great Britain At The Turn Of The Twentieth Century, Bryan Keith Robbins May 2023

Thinking On A Higher Plane: The Evolution Of A Strategic Mindset In The Navies Of America And Great Britain At The Turn Of The Twentieth Century, Bryan Keith Robbins

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation examines how the American and British schools of naval thought matured in the decades surrounding the turn of the twentieth century. Specifically, this is an ideological and institutional comparison of the two navies through the development of higher education for senior officers focused on strategic thinking. These programs helped define the role of naval forces as an element of power projection and influenced the ideology within each navy from a perspective emphasizing command of the sea in support of national interests and objectives. Principal elements discussed are the impact forums like the U. S. Naval Institute and the …


The Railsplitter And The Pathfinder: The Relationship Between Abraham Lincoln And John C. Frémont, Kourtney Yantis May 2023

The Railsplitter And The Pathfinder: The Relationship Between Abraham Lincoln And John C. Frémont, Kourtney Yantis

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This study serves as an analysis of the connections between Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States and John Charles Frémont as a Civil War general. Lincoln’s position within history is solid, unlike that of John C. Frémont. The thesis will elevate Frémont to a higher status as a historical figure by arguing that the emancipation edict that he issued for Missouri in August of 1861 would influence Abraham Lincoln’s preliminary emancipation proclamation of September 1862, even though Lincoln repealed Frémont’s decree. In biographies of each man, their interactions are merely a small part of the stories of their …


Working For The Benefit And Advancement Of Women: Three Women's Organizations That Commemorated The American Civil War, 1880-1920, Annette F. Guild May 2023

Working For The Benefit And Advancement Of Women: Three Women's Organizations That Commemorated The American Civil War, 1880-1920, Annette F. Guild

Masters Theses, 2020-current

In the past forty years, scholars and members of the public alike have obsessed over the complex legacy of the American Civil War (1861-1865). As debates over Confederate monuments and the United States’ racial past have frequently emerged in politics, many Americans have disagreed as to how the Civil War should be remembered. In examining the evolution of Civil War memory in American society, numerous scholars have noted the important role that women’s organizations played in influencing the Civil War’s collective memory in the fifty years following the conflict. However, while scholars have noted the significance of these organizations for …


From “Cowardice” To “Shellshock”: The Definition And Treatment Of Mental Health In The United States Marine Corps During The Age Of The Great War, Itzel Marquez May 2023

From “Cowardice” To “Shellshock”: The Definition And Treatment Of Mental Health In The United States Marine Corps During The Age Of The Great War, Itzel Marquez

Theses and Dissertations

The aim of my master’s thesis is to study how the United States’ Marine Corps recognized, defined, and treated mental health issues during the Great War and how this translated into the treatment of Marines by their peers and commanding officers. Similar to other countries that fought in the Great War, also referred to as World War I, the United States witnessed intense discussions about the psychological effects of war. The question of whether and how modern warfare affected troops’ mental health was addressed by all branches of the United States’ military. Yet, the issue of mental health in the …


Leaders On The Ground: Command Influence On War Crimes In The Armies Of France And The United States, Hayward Hood May 2023

Leaders On The Ground: Command Influence On War Crimes In The Armies Of France And The United States, Hayward Hood

All Theses

Utilizing torture during the Battle of Algiers, the My Lai Massacre, and torture at Abu Ghraib as specific case studies, this thesis contends that negligence or dereliction of duty by the brigade, battalion, and company commanders were the primary factors. Additional factors included commanders stressing rapid results, and external stressors in the soldiers’ immediate environment. War crimes are defined as violations of the 1907 Hague Convention which was supported by the 1949 Geneva Protocols, and negligence is defined in the legal sense.1 Contrary to the existing narrative, this thesis contends that lower-level commanders did more to create the conditions required …


A Fake Future: The Threat Of Foreign Disinformation On The U.S. And Its Allies, Brandon M. Rubsamen Apr 2023

A Fake Future: The Threat Of Foreign Disinformation On The U.S. And Its Allies, Brandon M. Rubsamen

Global Tides

This paper attempts to explain the threat that foreign disinformation poses for the United States Intelligence Community and its allies. The paper examines Russian disinformation from both a historical and contemporary context and how its effect on Western democracies may only be exacerbated in light of Chinese involvement and evolving technologies. Fortunately, the paper also studies practices and strategies that the United States Intelligence Community and its allied foreign counterparts may use to respond. It is hoped that this study will help shed further light on Russian and Chinese disinformation campaigns and explain how the Intelligence Community can efficiently react.


The Women’S Committee Of The Council Of National Defense In Maryland, 1917-1918, Savannah Scott Apr 2023

The Women’S Committee Of The Council Of National Defense In Maryland, 1917-1918, Savannah Scott

Honors Projects

During World War I, the United States created the Women’s Committee of the Council of National Defense to organize and coordinate women’s war work. The Women’s Committee had a federalist structure of national, state, and local committees to organize the different levels of women’s societies in the country. This paper uses the Maryland Section of the Women’s Committee as a case study to argue how how the centralized organization of the Women’s Committee and its flexibility with the local committees led to more productive efforts at mobilizing women. It will expand on the formation and organization of the Maryland Women’s …


The Fight For Equality: African American Seabees During World War Ii, Victoria Castillo Jan 2023

The Fight For Equality: African American Seabees During World War Ii, Victoria Castillo

War, Diplomacy, and Society (MA) Theses

This thesis outlines the Navy’s movement towards black inclusion from the beginning of World War I to the end of World War II through the lens of African American Seabees as well as the two integrated Seabee Battalions, 34th and 80th. While examining African American Seabees during World War II, one can see the injustices they were facing in the Navy. Seabees are one of the forgotten branches during World War II, but while examining the history of African Americans serving in the U.S. Navy and the Seabees, we start to understand how they were able to …


Guide To The Reginald L. Davenport House Music Collection, Columbia College Chicago Jan 2023

Guide To The Reginald L. Davenport House Music Collection, Columbia College Chicago

CBMR Collection Guides / Finding Aids

Reginald L Davenport came of age to the sound of hot mixing Chicago radio DJs during the 1980s and he carried his love of house music to the United Kingdom when he left home to serve in the armed forces abroad, DJ’ing around England when he wasn’t on base. The collection contains flyers primarily from the United Kingdom of house music venues in which he DJ’ed, tapes of his mixes, and documents related to his work.


Evil No More: The Image Of The Witch And Women In The United States From Seventeenth And Twentieth Centuries, Morgan Taylor Peacha Jan 2023

Evil No More: The Image Of The Witch And Women In The United States From Seventeenth And Twentieth Centuries, Morgan Taylor Peacha

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Women in both colonial America and the twentieth century United States were impacted by the notions of witches and witchcraft. There was an integral change in witchcraft during the era of growing feminism and equality in political status. In the colonial period, what was once a disguise for women's oppression, has become a tool for women's liberation.


Doris Stevens: A "Fascist" Feminist? Stevens, The Inter-American Commission Of Women, And The Unión Argentina De Mujeres, 1936-1939, Jeannette Hunker Jan 2023

Doris Stevens: A "Fascist" Feminist? Stevens, The Inter-American Commission Of Women, And The Unión Argentina De Mujeres, 1936-1939, Jeannette Hunker

Scripps Senior Theses

Doris Stevens (1888-1963) was a U.S. feminist, suffragist, and member of the National Women’s Party. After the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1920, Stevens, among other U.S. feminists, involved herself in Latin American politics, working to pass women’s suffrage legislation in multiple countries. Stevens was chair of the Inter-American Commission of Women (IACW) from 1928 to 1939. Eventually, a number of Latin American feminists, as well as members of the Roosevelt administration, sought to remove her from the IACW when her political tendencies posed a threat to both. Accused of being a “fascist,” Stevens was voted …


2022 Tell Award For Scientific Achievement And Cooperation, C. Naseer Ahmad Jan 2023

2022 Tell Award For Scientific Achievement And Cooperation, C. Naseer Ahmad

Swiss American Historical Society Review

Each year, the Swiss Embassy in the United States of America awards the Tell Award. This prestigious award is named after the legendary Swiss hero William Tell who symbolizes the struggle for political and individual freedom because he overcame the tyrannical rule of Albrecht Gessler who terrorized Swiss people.


Man & Machine: A Narrative Of The Relationship Between World War Ii Fighter Advancement And Pilot Skill, Brian Burnett Ii Jan 2023

Man & Machine: A Narrative Of The Relationship Between World War Ii Fighter Advancement And Pilot Skill, Brian Burnett Ii

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

From 1938 until the end of World War II, the Curtiss P-40 fighter participated in the European, North Africa, and Pacific theaters of war. An aircraft’s success depends primarily upon the pilot’s expertise. Without skilled pilots, technology alone cannot win a war. Technological innovation still plays a crucial role in the success of a nation’s air force. Relative to technological developments, how impactful is a pilot’s skill on a fighter plane’s performance? My thesis structure is a deep look into each pilot’s experience and how victory was achieved with a plane that most military writings say is inferior. I investigate …