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Aristotle, Redemption, And The Conquest Of The Americas, Luis Angel Buentello

Theses and Dissertations

The central question addressed in my thesis is the claim that the even though the conquest of the Americas by the Spaniards was a brutal and murderous process, the Spanish imperial project in the Americas, based on Aristotelian ideology, resulted in the most beneficial and least harmful form of conquest conceivable in comparison to the next great empire of the age, the British Empire.

The founding pillars of Spain’s overseas empire in the Americas, based on an Aristotelian framework, produced a synthesis of political thinking that brought about greater benefits to the native populations, and slave populations, subsumed under the …

Building A History: A Case Study Of Manufactured History In Texas, Gregg L. Carter

Theses and Dissertations

Building a History is a case study that seeks to examine Texas mytho-history, and the subsequent historical memory it engenders, from the perspective of Nationalism. Specifically, this paper addresses two periods in Texas’ historical past—beginning with the period of Anglo colonialization of Texas and the subsequent rebellion against Mexican authority, (1820–1836), and transitioning to the progressive era, (1890–1936).

This thesis demonstrates that during progressive era, Anglo-Texans began manufacturing an alternative historical narrative that blended Judeo-Christian and Puritan mytho-symbolism with Euro-centric notions of socio-political and ethnic superiority. This process of manufacturing and legitimizing historical myth in Texas reveals a characteristic similarity …

The Origins And Development Of John F. Kennedy And Lyndon B. Johnson's Perceptions Of American Foreign Policy Toward East Asia, Juan C. Razo Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

The administrations of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson focused extensively on foreign affairs in East Asia related to China, Laos, and Vietnam. Examining the development of their respective perceptions proved instrumental in comprehending their approaches to the geopolitics of the region. The overall structure of this thesis includes an analysis of their tenure in Congress, a breakdown of the first-half of Kennedy’s presidency, an emphasis on the transition period between Kennedy and Johnson, an examination of Johnson’s presidency, and concluding with a detailed comparison of their foreign policy toward East Asia. Their differing perceptions to the regional geopolitics …

Hablando De Negocios: Three Rio Grande Valley Businesses During The Great Depression, 1929-1939, Karla A. Lira

Theses and Dissertations

The Rio Grande Valley is in the South most tip of Texas and borders Northern Mexico, it includes Willacy, Cameron, Hidalgo, and Starr Counties. Scholars have focused on gender, agriculture, and labor of the area. However, historians have failed to research the region through a business perspective during the Great Depression. This thesis then seeks to analyze ways in which the Great Depression affected the Rio Grande Valley through the research of two stores and one business in the area: The Manuel Guerra Store, Edelstein’s furniture store, and John Shary’s land selling business. Its objective will fill an existing gap …

Clashing Ideals Of Citizenship: Norms Of Inclusion And The Middle East, David J. Wolover

Theses and Dissertations

Modern conceptions of citizenship are in a state of flux, and, as such, so are our ideas about belonging. Ascriptive norms of membership based on the location of one’s birth—jus soli—or familial lineage—jus sanguinis—have provided the groundwork for membership where being designated a “citizen” can provide significant legal, economic, and social advantages over those outside the status. Naturalization, dual citizenships, and citizenship-by-investment programs (CIPs) have made citizenship more inclusive, less tied to a specific group, and more responsive to the needs of the individual. Further, instead of a citizen’s rights stopping at the border of the nation-state, liberal citizenship norms …

Exorcising Power, John Jarzemsky

Theses and Dissertations

This paper theorizes that authors, in an act I have termed “literary exorcism,” project and expunge parts of their identities that are in conflict with the overriding political agenda of their texts, into the figure of the villain. Drawing upon theories of power put forth by Judith Butler, I argue that this sort of projection arises in reaction to dominant ideas and institutions, but that authors find ways to manipulate this process over time. By examining a broad cross-section of English-language literature over several centuries, this phenomenon and its evolution can be observed, as well as the means by which …

The Catholic Church And The Formation Of Human Rights Doctrine In El Salvador, Edward Mikus Iii

Theses and Dissertations

The Catholic Church’s focus on human rights in the years following the Second Vatican Council led to increased political activity amongst the clergy in socially stratified El Salvador. This development, in turn, led to a breakdown in relations between the Church and the Salvadoran State

Making An Old-World Milwaukee: German Heritage, Nostalgia, And The Reshaping Of The Twentieth Century City, Joseph B. Walzer

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the importance of white ethnicity, and especially Germanness, in the “civic branding” and urban restructuring efforts of city officials, civic boosters, and business leaders in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the mid-to-late twentieth century. Scholars have increasingly identified the significant roles the “revival” of European ethnic identities played in maintaining white racial privilege in response to the Civil Rights Movement since the 1960s. I contribute to these new veins of scholarship by tracing the continued and evolving prominence of Germanness in the Midwestern city of Milwaukee, long after common assumptions of ethnic assimilation might have expected such nineteenth century …

Lux Occidentale: The Eastern Mission Of The Pontifical Commission For Russia, Origins To 1933, Michael Anthony Guzik

Theses and Dissertations

Although it was first a sub-commission within the Congregation for the Eastern Churches (CEO), the Pontifical Commission for Russia (PCpR) emerged as an independent commission under the presidency of the noted Vatican Russian expert, Michel d’Herbigny, S.J. in 1925, and remained so until 1933 when it was re-integrated into CEO. The PCpR was given authority over the spiritual and material mission to Soviet Russia, including refugees who had fled the Bolshevik Revolution. While most studies concerning the Catholic Church and Russia are religious or political histories which focus, respectively, on martyrdom or the contest between the so-called free world and …

Nobi Ni-Tse’Tse’Ede (House On The Cold One): Northern Great Basin Archaic Hunter-Gatherer Household Archaeology, Harney County, Oregon, Emily Jane Epstein

Theses and Dissertations

Excavation results from four sites on Tse’tse’ede (The Cold One), which is also commonly known as Steens Mountain, produced archaeological evidence for a prehistoric subsistence and settlement system on the western flank of Tse’tse’ede. Material culture recovered in association with one house, domestic surfaces, and from a high elevation hunting locale provides evidence for human use of the mountain spanning the Archaic. Analysis suggests human occupation of the range intensified post Cal 3000 BP.

The archaeological results were compared against an ethnographically derived model for household and community food security, the basis of settlement and subsistence systems. The model failed …

Newberry Library Ms 53: Unlocking The Secrets Of A Late Medieval Book Of Hours, Marianna Cecere

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates a manuscript in the Newberry Library collection, Newberry Library MS 53, a Book of Hours for the Use of Rome made around 1470 in Bruges, Flanders, and thought to be connected to the circle of Willem Vrelant (d. 1481), one of the most prolific Flemish illuminators of his time. The manuscript itself has received little scholarly attention, and the present study reconstructs its history by identifying elements within the manuscripts that demonstrate a connection to Vrelant and his associates, describing the production process used for smaller, less expensive Books of Hours, identifying its likely audience, and comparing …

Images Of Women In Refugee Drama: Eve Ensler’S Necessary Targets And Ellen Mclaughlin’S The Trojan Women, Kaitlyn Tossie

Theses and Dissertations

In the past ten years, a critique of the conceptualization of refugees in Western mass media has emerged as a developing discourse in response to post-20th century genocides. Photographs in mass media of wailing refugees began to appear in the early 1990s when reports of the Bosnian genocide appeared in the United States. These images, and the stereotypes that surround them, contribute to the universal depiction of refugees as weak. Though the way in which theatre comments on this conceptualization of refugees has largely been ignored, theatre has a unique ability to comment on, reflect, and create a culture that …

Tuff Breeches, Arkadiy Ryabin

Theses and Dissertations

In consideration of language and it’s relationship to information and knowledge, the author explores personal set of events in relationship to that of the public, via forms of orality. 19th century American literature is posited as a hangover influencing contemporary events.

Theory For A Starving Obese, Ishai Shapira Kalter

Theses and Dissertations

Theory for a Starving Obese (2017) is both a book and an installation. During the years 2015-2017 I began writing Theory for a Starving Obese; a collection of essays and art criticism about exhibitions that took place in white cubes in New York. I was following my dissatisfaction, and hoped to delve deeper into the question “What is Contemporary Art?” At the end of a process, I sent seventeen envelopes to artists who exhibited solo shows in New York and whose works I have criticized. Each envelope consists of one digital drawing (שרבוט, pronounced Shirbut), DVD with the …

The Breath Seekers: Race, Riots, And Public Space In Harlem, 1900-1935, Allyson Compton

Theses and Dissertations

This study seeks to explore the historical intersection of public space and equality by examining Harlem, New York, between 1900 and 1935.

A Charitable Scheme: William Smith, Michael Schlatter, And The German Free Schools, Daniel M. Crown

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis describes William Smith’s development of “German Free Schools” in Pennsylvania between 1753-1755. It argues that these schools, ostensibly meant to acclimatize German immigrants to a British colony, were in fact intended to increase pro-Proprietary sympathy, isolate sectarian preachers, and end Quaker dominance over the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

Hell In Hand: Fear And Hope In The Hellmouths Of The Hours Of Catherine Of Cleves, Stephanie Lish

Theses and Dissertations

This paper is an attempt to investigate how well the borders and miniatures of The Hours of Catherine of Cleves facilitated the method of meditation recommended by Gerard Zerbolt of Zutphen and therefore was a useful tool in Catherine’s search for eternal salvation.

"A Vigorous Propaganda": The Peace Conferences Of 1899 And 1907, The Peace Palace, And Internationalism Through Design At The Hague, 1899–1920, Daniel Pecoraro

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis uncovers the history of the Peace Palace and The Hague’s role in the early days of the internationalist movement. In the process of localizing the early twentieth century history of The Hague, this thesis examines the development of international imagery and culture through design. The Peace Palace as we know it today was ultimately a result of tensions between internationalist ideas (cooperation, arbitration, modernity) and the pride of Old World nationalism. The final design by Louis Cordonnier and J. A. G. Van der Steur repudiates the feeling of modernity surrounding the idea of peace through arbitration. It is …

Stitched Together: The Singer Manufacturing Company And Its Employees In Revolutionary Russia, 1914-1930, Jenna Elizabeth Himsl

Theses and Dissertations

In 1914, the Russian Empire was the largest foreign market of the Singer Manufacturing Company. Following the Russian Revolution, Singer’s Russian subsidiary, Kompaniya Singer, was nationalized in a piecemeal fashion. Singer’s employees were forced to adapt to the new order or attempt to leave Soviet Russia. This thesis addresses the ways in which Kompaniya Singer and its employees built, used, fostered, and hampered national and institutional identities during the chaotic period from 1914 to 1930 in their quests to respond to the shifting political foundations of Russian society. As it became impossible for Kompaniya Singer and its cosmopolitan, managerial employees …

Elbert Peets: Town Planning, Pragmatism And Ecology, 1915-1968, Royce Michael Earnest

Theses and Dissertations

Elbert Peets (1886-1968) designed some significant town plans in the early to mid-twentieth century. His design work was successful and well regarded at the time, and his plans for Greendale, Wisconsin and Park Forest, Illinois were influential for post-World War II suburban developments. These town plans, and others such as Wyomissing, Pennsylvania and Washington Highlands, Wisconsin have continued to be vibrant and successful neighborhoods. Peets also wrote widely, and most notably was the co-author of The American Vitruvius; An Architect’s Handbook of Urban Design. However, though these contributions were notable, Peets has been largely neglected in the historiography of twentieth …

Through Northern Eyes: Robert E. Lee And The Northern Press, Steven D. Sheller

Theses and Dissertations

Most historians would agree that it is an anomaly in history how Robert E. Lee became an American icon. General Lee was the commander of a rebel army that was trying to split the country he had once loyally served into two. Even after being defeated at the Battle of Appomattox, instead of Lee suffering the normal fate of all failed revolutionaries, he was pardoned and allowed to continue to live in his native Virginia. Over a short amount of time after General Lee’s death he was elevated from rebel to hero. The origins of this can be traced back …

Jeanne Of Flanders And The Patronage Of The Chapel Of Saint Elizabeth Of Hungary In Laon Cathedral, Abby Rose Armstrong

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis provides a new argument concerning the patronage of the little-known chapel of St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Laon Cathedral. I examine unpublished documentary evidence that identifies the noblewoman responsible for the financing and construction of the chapel in the early fourteenth century. Circumstantial evidence indicates Jeanne of Flanders, a noble widow, also ordered the carving of relief sculpture of the Crucifixion and St. Elizabeth of Hungary along the chapel’s north wall. In this thesis, I argue that Jeanne’s actions fit the prescribed behavior for wealthy medieval widows, in that she expresses newfound authority and power in the wake …

"Fanciful But Not Forgotten: A Historical Examination Of The Study Of The Flea, 1840-1930", Andrea Jean Buhler

Theses and Dissertations

Although the Victorian and Progressive periods saw a rise in entomological research, fleas were not a priority for scientific investigation. The discovery of fleas as disease vectors in the late nineteenth century marked a turning-point in interest in fleas. Expanding this standard history of fleas, the thesis probes flea research conducted outside the confines of disease during 1840-1930. It documents and analyzes the contributions of Louis Bertolotto, William Heckler, Charles Rothschild, Karl Jordan, and L. O. Howard. Whereas those working in the new profession of entomology saw fleas as disease vectors, these men had different relationships with fleas: Bertolotto and …

Planters, Merchants, And Revolution: Lobbying Power And The Economic Origins Of Independence In South Carolina, Christian David Lear

Theses and Dissertations

The origins of the American Revolution in South Carolina derived from politicoeconomic factors. Most prominent among those factors was the lobbying power that elite South Carolinians sought within a new confederation. The ruling class of the province looked to the British Caribbean and perceived an immense lobbying power that resulted from the strong economies of sugar islands such as Jamaica. South Carolina simply could not match this power because of the disparate economies. Islands of the British Caribbean enjoyed tremendous clout in shaping imperial policy because of the revenue raised by sugar exports. On the mainland, however, South Carolina enjoyed …

The Byline Of Europe: An Examination Of Foreign Correspondents' Reporting From 1930 To 1941, Kerry J. Garvey

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis focuses on two of the largest foreign correspondents’ networks the one of the Chicago Tribune and New York Times- in prewar Europe and especially in Germany, thus providing a wider perspective on the foreign correspondents’ role in news reporting and, more importantly, how their reporting appeared in the published newspaper. It provides a new, broader perspective on how foreign news reporting portrayed European events to the American public. It describes the correspondents’ role in publishing articles over three time periods- 1930 to 1933, 1933-1939, and 1939 to 1941. Reporting and consequently the published paper depended on the correspondents’ …

Wake The Devil, Ricardo Ruiz

Theses and Dissertations

You could only bury a body so deep before the seasons decided you would join it . Topsoil so desperate for affection it shakes to remind me that I was once and am loved .

I linger in the southwestern sky , burgundy to violet , with Neil Young playing faintly in the distance as my father calls me home .

The Japanese Experience In Virginia, 1900s-1950s: Jim Crow To Internment, Emma T. Ito

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis addresses how Japanese and Japanese Americans may have lived and been perceived in Virginia from 1900s through the 1950s. This work focuses on their positions in society with comparisons to the nation, particularly during the “Jim Crow” era of “colored” and “white,” and after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. It highlights various means of understanding their positions in Virginia society, with emphasis on Japanese visitors, marriages of Japanese in Virginia, and the inclusion of Japanese in higher education at Roanoke College, Randolph-Macon College, William and Mary, University of Virginia, University of Richmond, Hampden-Sydney College, and Union …

"Our Captain Is A Gentleman”: Officer Elections Among Virginia Confederates, 1861-1862, Ryan C. O'Hallahan

Theses and Dissertations

Enlisted soldiers preferred to elect company- and regimental-level officers during the first year of the American Civil War. This thesis explores how early Confederate mobilization, class conflict between elites and non-elites, and Confederate military policies affected officer elections from spring 1861 to spring 1862 among Virginia Confederates. Chapter 1 explores how the chaotic nature of mobilization and common soldiers' initial expectations regarding their military service influenced elections from April 1861 until late July 1861. Chapter 2 details the changing nature of elections as elite officers faced challenges from non-elites and Confederate policies regarding furloughs and conscription forced officers to reconcile …

"An Amazing Aptness For Learning Trades:" The Role Of Enslaved Craftsmen In Charleston Cabinetmaking Shops, William A. Strollo

Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines the role of enslaved craftsmen in Charleston cabinetmaking shops during the late-eighteenth century and how wealthy Charlestonians’ desire fashionable goods fueled the demand for this labor force. The first chapter examines the rise of the wealthy Charlestonians and the origins of their taste for fashionable goods. The second chapter explores the increased use of enslaved craftsmen in Charleston cabinetmaking shops during the last half of the eighteenth century and how they affected the production of fashionable cabinet goods.

Belle Isle, Point Lookout, The Press And The Government: The Press And Reality Of Civil War Prison Camps, Marlea S. Donaho

Theses and Dissertations

The study of Civil War prisons is relatively new within the broader study of the Civil War. What little study there is tends to focus on bigger prison camps. It has been established in the historiography that prisoners suffered across the divided nation, but it has not been ascertained how the decisions and policies of the government, as well as the role of the press in those decisions, effected the daily lives of Civil War prisoners. Belle Isle, a Confederate Prison, and Point Lookout, a Union prison, will be analyzed for key differences to provide a fuller picture of life …