Digital Commons Network^™

Money Moves: An Analysis Of Chinese Foreign Direct Investment In Europe, Susan Soh

Honors Theses

In recent years, China has begun engaging in outward foreign direct investment (FDI). There is a significant amount of literature dedicated to understanding China’s FDI in developing nations. However, very little research has been conducted over Chinese FDI in advanced economies. As a result of this gap in existing literature, the question arises, what explains Chinese FDI in Europe?

As FDI is a transaction to which both the donor and recipient countries must agree, this thesis has a dual focus. One chapter of the thesis analyzes the effects of and motivations for Chinese FDI on European nations. In this chapter, …

In Defense Of The General: George Washington’S Aides-De-Camp And Their Campaign To Protect The Commander-In-Chief, Chloe Pellegrin

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Overlooked Diplomacy: A Look Into Missed Diplomatic Efforts In The Pacific Theater Of World War Ii, Maxwell Melanson

Honors Theses

This thesis examines possible diplomatic solutions that may have ceased United States-Japanese conflict throughout the late 1930s and 40s. The first chapter analyzes the declaration of the policy of unconditional surrender, and what this policy entailed. Despite Roosevelt claiming that the idea just came to him, it was a carefully developed policy, and was chosen to be enacted for a multitude of reasons. After the Casablanca conference in January 1943, unconditional surrender became a unifying policy and a politically smart policy in Roosevelt's favor. The second chapter then analyzes the tensions rising between Japan and the United States through the …

From Patrons To Landlords: The Transformation Of Class Relations In Zanzibar Through Wakf Reform, Isabel Spafford

Honors Theses

This study examines the role of wakf reforms in reshaping class relationships in Zanzibar during the British protectorate. Prior to the establishment of the British protectorate in Zanzibar, wakf dedications maintained patron-client relationships between the landowning class and poor clients that were established during the time of slavery but continued after abolition. I argue that wakf dedications were essential to continuing these relationships, and therefore British wakf reforms were necessary to achieve British colonial goals of dissolving patron-client relationships and establishing a capitalist system based on wage labor and ground rent. I analyze the relationship of the British colonial class, …

Russia's Agenda For Ukraine: An Examination Of Putin's Media Propaganda Narratives, Gillian Grace Littleton

Honors Theses

This thesis explores Russian discourse about Ukraine as reflected in Russian popular media since 2014’s Euromaidan Revolution. The thesis provides an overview of Russia’s historic denial of Ukrainian statehood and it argues: Russian historians and politicians have seen Ukraine as a “little-brother” nation to Russia, with a shared Slavic heritage, and that any attempts by Ukrainians to separate themselves from Russia are Western influence movements. The thesis examines three types of mass media in order to demonstrate the interaction between history, politics and popular culture. Chapter 1 explores the public speeches of key Russian political figures including Vladimir Putin himself, …

Preservation And Public History In Mound Bayou, Mississippi, Walker Bray

Honors Theses

This paper is an exploration of the history of Mound Bayou, Mississippi, an all Black community in the Mississippi Delta formed by freedmen in the wake of Reconstruction. This paper also discusses the ways in which Mound Bayou citizens are working to preserve their history and make it known to a wider audience. In particular, this work discusses the recently opened Mound Bayou Museum of African American Culture and History and related efforts to restore and preserve historic structures in Mound Bayou. In addition, this work also seeks to explore ways in which the University of Mississippi can effectively supplement …

An Analysis Of The Tanzanian Public Response To Tanzanian Leadership During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Savannah Pipkin

Honors Theses

This thesis discusses the similarities and differences in Tanzanian COVID-19 policies implemented by the late President John Pombe Magufuli and his successor, President Samia Suluhu Hassan. It also analyzes the responses of Tanzanian citizens to these different policies as expressed in the media. The conclusions that were made in this thesis are based on qualitative analysis of articles published in Tanzanian-based newspapers during specific time periods surrounding significant policy changes during each presidency. The situation of COVID-19 policies in Tanzania is unique due to the differences in the COVID-19 policies implemented in comparison to those implemented by other countries and …

Mercy Otis Warren’S Marcia(S) And Cornelia(S): A Case Study In Women’S Internalization Of Classicism In Early America, Brittany Ellis

Honors Theses

The connection between people in early America and classicism is a field of study that has been heavily documented, although it has remained a very male-focused field with little research done about how women in early America formed a relationship with antiquity. This thesis reveals that elite white women had a deep emotional and intellectual attachment with mothers and matrons from ancient Greece and Rome as a basis for expressing political thoughts and identity; classicism formed a common language that many women could relate to each other before, during, and after the American Revolution. This assessment is achieved through a …

Of Spies And Assassins, Haddon Smead

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the possibility of a connection between the Shinobi of Japan and the Order of Assassins from the Middle East. There is evidence that these two secret societies of antiquity are related and that there might have been some level of interaction and/or connection between them. The aligning methodologies, the geopolitical circumstances, the transmission of culture, and the other organizations resembling these two groups establish a frightening level of similarity between them and support the existence of a historical connection. It is hoped that additional study will be undertaken with regards to this subject, and the author of …

Maybe The Real Prize Was The Connections They Built Along The Way: A Legal Analysis Of The Role Of Privateering In The Creation Of The Trans-Imperial Greater Caribbean, Daniel Hall

Honors Theses

While study of the eighteenth-century Caribbean has traditionally focused on the stark separation between the European empires of the region, this thesis seeks to reveal privateering’s role as an important force in creating what has come to be referred to as the trans-imperial or trans-national Caribbean. This will be based in an analysis of the legal structure of British privateering as a means of both drawing attention to the practice’s intrinsically legalistic nature as well as highlighting the fact that this regional creation was a result of colonists working within imperial guidelines as much as it was an act of …

Lost Memories, Lost Colonies, Emma C. Smith

Honors Theses

The Roanoke Colony was the first English colony in America. The colonists were abandonded by the Governor shortly after the colony was established. In public memory, the fate of the colony is highly debated and has since become an American founding myth. As a result of the contested fate, the story of Roanoke has since become a blank slate upon which other legends can evolve. These legends become a window for historians into the insecurities of those who created them. This paper discusses why the English wanted to establish a colony, the popularization of Pocahontas, the history of marriages between …

Problematic Advocacy And Victorian Public Health In Gatherings From Graveyards By Dr. George A. Walker, Olivia Ladner

Honors Theses

This thesis focuses on the problematic advocacy of Dr. George A. Walker in his public health pamphlet, Gatherings from Graveyards. In his work, Walker calls for the removal of urban cemeteries from within London and other cities in Great Britain due to concerns about public health safety. He cites miasmatic theory as the reason for the spread of disease from rotting corpses and unkept cemeteries in the British metropolis. Though he blames Parliament for the state of urban cemeteries, he continuously cites poor communities and neighborhoods as the sole sources of disease and does not conduct investigations into the …

A Cold War On The Dark Knight: Batman And American Culture 1939-1975, Angelica Cantrell

Honors Theses

In 1930, Batman fought the prevailing fears of urban America. With the addition of Robin in 1940, the comics changed to appeal to children and continued to follow the cultural trends of America during World War II and into the Cold War. Fear and paranoia during the Cold War influenced American culture and domestic policy. Anticommunism was ingrained in American social structure and initiated efforts at social containment in the 1950s. American culture shifted to emphasize morality and domesticity, and many Americans actively sought to protect traditional Christian values in their society.

Among the rising concerns, Americans became increasingly worried …

"Freedmen Not Freemen": The Freedmen's Bureau And Black Land Ownership In Arkansas, Eric Johnson

Honors Theses

When slavery ended at the close of the Civil War, there was no universal answer for where former slaves were to live. The type and quality of freedom Black Southerners would experience during Reconstruction would be largely determined by where they lived. Many freedpeople and Republicans desired for widespread Black land ownership across the South. “Forty acres and a mule” was a common phrase that spread throughout the South and represented the hope that the United States government would ensure that all former slaves would be given land to own and live on. The Freedmen’s Bureau, which was created under …

Moctezuma And The Emergence Of Sixteenth-Century New Spain’S Historical Dialogue., Charlie Tabor

Honors Theses

In August 1521, Hernan Cortés entered the city of Tenochtitlan, declared it conquered, and announced the creation of the new colonial territory New Spain. Over the course of the subsequent sixteenth century Spain would rapidly expand its influence across the American continents.

Spanish colonialism in the Americas is historically distinct for a rapid process of globalization which linked previously isolated European and indigenous societies. Analysis of chronicles documenting the Conquest of Mexico written in the later half of the 1500’s reveal that colonialism corresponded to new ways of thinking informed by, but also distinct from, Aztec and Spanish world views. …

Noble Pagans And Satanic Saracens: Literary Portrayals Of Islam In Medieval Italy And Iberia., John Spencer Jones

Honors Theses

The medieval Christian world is generally associated with a kind of religious zealotry that would seem to preclude the development of nuanced understandings of the religious Other. The heightened interreligious contact in regions such as Iberia and the Italian Peninsula, however, made room for relationships with members of other faiths that resulted in more developed ideas about these other creeds. This honors thesis examines the portrayal of Islam in the Christian literature of medieval Italy and Iberia, dating from the late 11th century to the middle of the 14th century. It categorizes a few types of the literary “use” of …

A Walk Through Western Michigan University's History, Melissa Paduk

Honors Theses

This thesis project examines the history of Western Michigan University’s East Campus and its expansion during the 20^th and 21^st centuries. The project is made up of a digital walking tour on the website Clio and a research paper. The walking tour was created on Clio.com and consists of photographs and textual information about twenty buildings and sites that played a significant role in the development and the transformation of the Western State Normal School. The tour can be accessed at the following link: https://theclio.com/tour/2169. The research paper serves as a supporting resource that works in partnership …

“Understanding Russian And Soviet National Identity Through Soviet War Literature”, Mackenzie A. Jones

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Six Signatures: A Snapshot Of Local Black Political Participation During Reconstruction In East Baton Rouge, Ethan Lauvray

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Gone With The Wedding: The Historical Evolution Of Southern Plantation Weddings And Subsequent Cultural Implications, Madeline May Holmes

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

A Woman’S Place Is In The Church: Understanding The Perspective Of Women In The Protestant Reformation, Sarah Katherine Mccallum

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

“The Lord Is The Maker Of Them All” Black Membership In White Baptist Churches In Antebellum Louisiana, Alison Foster

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Memory And Memoirs: A Study Of Civil War Soldiers' Perspectives On The Battle Of Shiloh, Brianna Taylor

Honors Theses

The most acceptable answer in today's political climate is that the Civil War was fought over slavery. Even in the rural South where I grew up, academics cast a wary eye when it is suggested that the Civil War was fought for any other reason. Historical writing is often careful to mention that other causes of the war are still interrelated with slavery, thus adding nuance. Yet still, slavery was the central cause of the Civil War, as there would have not been a war without the presence of institutionalized slavery in America. What history may remember as the spirit …

“They Were Planning On It”: Recasting The 1967 Buffalo Uprising As A Student-Driven Insurgency, Matthew P. Gawley

Honors Theses

The past two decades have witnessed a critical re-analysis of the many African American urban “ghetto revolts” of the 1960s and 1970s. This paper analyzes one of the one hundred fifty-seven violent incidents of the “Long Hot Summer” of 1967, the Buffalo Uprising (June 26 – July 1, 1967). Building from recent research which indicates this incident had deeply political overtones, this work demonstrates the student-driven nature of the five-day rebellion, and the internal collaboration participants engaged in during their violent and non-violent activities. Drawing upon personally conducted interviews, interviews from 1967, newspaper testimony, and various publications, this new understanding …

The Bittersweet Tooth: Understanding French Identity Through The Colonial Empire, Commodity Fetishism, And Pâtisserie, Clarisse D. Allehaut

Honors Theses

This thesis argues that patisserie and the French relationship with dessert are a part of national identity. The historical context of patisserie runs parallel to the growth and power of the French colonial empire. Patisserie feels removed from the empire, and yet the two show how gastronomy, luxury, and exploitative power in the form of empire are components of French history and identity. Marx’s theory on commodity fetishism serves as the backbone for this argument. This theoretical idea supposes that value is an objective concept and society attributes importance and perceived meaning. Patisserie exemplifies commodity fetishism as a good with …

A Prosaic People? Literature, Propaganda, And National Identity In Second World War Britain, William L. Maines

Honors Theses

During the early years of the Second World War, a typically unofficial and loose coalition of British newspapers, publishers, propagandists, and booksellers mobilized Britain’s imagined literary past and present as a part of the war effort. They defined the nation through its imagined literary proclivities— its penchant for literary production and consumption, and its “unique” attitude toward literary freedom— and in opposition to the literary tyranny of Nazi Germany. Marshaling the nation’s mythological literary heritage, they enlisted Shakespeare and Milton in the war effort, portraying them as temperate and civilian English heroes. While the rhetoric of “British bookishness” hardly went …

The Chosen One?: Reflections On Mid-Century Egyptian Nationalism, Gamal Abdel Nasser's Charismatic Leadership, And The Suez Crisis Of 1956, Owen P.S. Hobbs

Honors Theses

This thesis considers Gamal Abdel Nasser's 1956 nationalization of the Suez Canal and the subsequent Suez Crisis in the broader context of the histories of nationalism and charismatic leadership in a decolonial setting. Chapter one synthesizes the works of notable scholars into a cohesive historiography of nationalism's emergence in Egypt and Nasser's unique role within mid-century Egyptian society. Chapter two examines the direct causes of the Suez Crisis within the previously established context of nationalism and charismatic leadership, drawing new conclusions from memos, telegrams, and the Egyptian Government's 'White Paper on the Nationalization of the Suez Canal Maritime Company' -- …

Whose Nation Is This? Conceptualizing Burmese National Identity Through Case Studies Of Inter-Ethnic Conflict, Jason Leong

Honors Theses

The ongoing Rohingya Genocide is the most extreme expression of Burmese identity and has catapulted the nation of Myanmar onto the world stage. This thesis examines the development of a Burmese national identity during British colonial rule through the lens of inter-ethnic conflict between the Bamar ethnolinguistic majority and ethnic minorities living in colonial Myanmar. Through analyzing three different case studies, each representing a watershed expression of Burmese identity, this thesis illustrates how inter-ethnic conflict shaped what it means to be Burmese. Using archival material from the British Library such as political cartoons, government reports, and vernacular newspaper clippings, this …

Understanding The Role Of Race In American Medicine, Fariel C. A. Lamountain

Honors Theses

Long running inequity in health care and outcomes in the United States stem from failure to acknowledge the underlying role of the Transatlantic slave trade as it manifests in all facets of American society and commerce. This paper focuses specifically on the American medical system and its foundations to understand the precursors to generational trends in lack of access to healthcare and poor health for Black communities. This paper uses a three-pronged approach to understand the racist cycle of inequity, highlighting the history and origins of racism in American medicine, personal accounts and statistical evidence of inequity, and community and …

Memories And New Beginnings: Chinese American Restaurants And Food As A Contact Zone In Early-Twentieth Century California, Nicholas Kim

Honors Theses

In previous Asian American studies, authors largely focus on urban centers. In my thesis, I center rural Chinese American communities in early-twentieth century California in the making of the Chinese American identity. I argue that they, along with Chinese American food, acted as contact zones for Chinese and non-Chinese Americans. This paper covers a range of themes, including most prominently the connection between food and culture. I additionally address how Chinese American restaurants and food challenged perceptions of Chinese Americans as foreigners, their role in gender relations, and what we consider to be authentic. This paper largely uses archival newspaper …