Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Insane Asylums In Britain During The Nineteenth Century, Jeanna Mankins

History Theses

This thesis analyzes insane asylums, in Britain, during the nineteenth century and argues that government, society, and gender had a profound impact on insane asylums and determined the quality of care that female and male patients received as a consequence.

Budding Nationalism In The Black Garden; Nagorno Karabakh And The Role Of Conflict In Developing Azerbaijani National Identity, Kris Bohnenstiehl

History Theses

Azerbaijan's war with Armenia in late 2020, was dubbed the "Patriotic War" by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his supporters. Emphasizing the nature of conflict with Armenia as the greatest possible expression of Azerbaijani nationalism, the Aliyev cabinet has utilized the conflict to generate popular support for the authoritarian government. This paper delves into the history of Azerbaijan to flesh out the roots of the conflict and better understand how Azerbaijanis understand their own national identity.

A Place In This World: Minority Nation-Building In Interwar Czechoslovakia, Shelby Wise

History Theses

An in-depth analysis of Slovak, German, Hungarian, Ukrainian, and Jewish minority struggles with the Czech majority within the First Czechoslovak Republic. Each minority faced their own unique set of issues with both the new government and each other due to long-standing historical grievances. These issues hindered the overall development of the new nation-state and helped usher in the Munich Crisis on the eve of WWII, which effectively ended the short life of the First Republic.

"No Room For Denial"?: Historical Memory And The 1995 Genocide At Srebrenica, Julia Masur

History Theses

The title of this research project comes from a documentary by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) called “Srebrenica Genocide: No Room for Denial”, that commemorated the 20^th anniversary of the genocide of Bosniak Muslims.The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has called the 1995 massacre in Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, “the single worst atrocity committed in the former Yugoslavia during the wars of the 1990s and the worst massacre that occurred in Europe since the months after World War II.”^[1] Based on evidence from exhumations of mass graves, demographics studies, interception of …

The Moral Politics Of Infancy: Formation Of A Protestant Maternity In England, Ca. 1550-1650, Katharine Etsell

History Theses

This paper studies a shift in conceptions and responsibilities of maternity during the English Reformation, 1550-1650. A focus on interpersonal family life pushes against and complicates traditional views of the Reformation, and a social historiographical lens furthers this agenda and grants perspective to how certain aspects of religious reform changed the rules of motherhood. In seeking to answer questions about the effects of this new religion on women and family life, it becomes evident that there was an obsession with correcting and directing maternity from a wide variety of authorities, including mothers, medical intellectuals, and members of the clergy; what …

“I Am The Handmaid Of The Lord”: The Spiritual Development Of Mary Ward Amidst English Catholic Clerical Crisis, 1585 – 1630, Alyson Borowczyk

History Theses

In late Tudor and Stuart England, exercising one’s Catholic beliefs could potentially lead to a martyr’s reward. Since the practice of Catholicism was clandestine, homes became parishes within themselves, with the woman of the house serving as pastoral administrator. She was charged with taking care of the priests she was illegally harboring, and she was also responsible for educating the young in the ways of the Faith to ensure it did not die with her generation. These were indeed subversive acts, because she defied the State and its laws. Mary Ward, foundress of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, …

Hell In The Snow: The U.S. Army In The Colmar Pocket, January 22 - February 9, 1945, Clinton W. Thompson

History Theses

In December of 1944 and January of 1945, as Allied forces fought to slowly regain their footing in the Battle of the Bulge, another fierce engagement raged to the south in Alsace and became known as the Battle of the Colmar Pocket. Although overshadowed by the more famous fight to the north, the Colmar Pocket nevertheless played a pivotal role in the war in Europe. Yet the engagement which made Audie Murphy famous remains at the periphery of our understanding of the intense fighting in the winter of 1944-45. This thesis is about the overlooked story in the Allied struggle …

Experiences Of Soviet Women Combatants During World War Ii, Michelle De Jesus Reyes

History Theses

World War II was arguably the most heroic event in the history of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), so much that it was known as the “Great Patriotic War.” Tens of millions of Russians were killed during the large scale conflict against their “fascist foes.” Still, the large population of the USSR were moved to action primarily by mass propaganda distributed by the Communist Party leaders. Women played a large role during the war, not just in the factories on the home front or as partisans, but as combat nurses and snipers as well. Since the losses …

Scottish Emigration To British North America 1770-1783: The First Phase Of Scottish Highland Diaspora, Beth Pryor

History Theses

As a result of the Hanoverian victory at the Battle of Culloden, the Scottish Highlands changed forever. Parliament passed new legislation outlawing key elements of traditional Highland culture. Highland landlords would implement new economic schemes to convert subsistence farming into commercial agriculture. With the economic changes in leases, land management and rent, the Highland social structure would be reorganized. One particular strata of the class structure, the tacksmen, would find their traditional cultural role as a military leader and economic role as an estate manager stripped from them, resulting in a reduced role in Highland society. This thesis will explain …

The World Of Elagabalus, Jay Carriker

History Theses

After his assassination in 222 the Roman Emperor Elagabalus served as Rome's whipping boy--an embodiment of all the vices that led to the decline and fall of Rome; but through placing his policies in the context of a a Julio-Severan Dynasty, the religious boundaries that he disregarded reveal a Varian Moment as a critical period in the Easternization of Roman religion which makes him one of the the most significant figures in Roman history.

Clad In Steel: The Evolution Of Plate Armor In Medieval Europe And Its Relation To Contemporary Weapons Development, Jason Gill

History Theses

Plate armor developed and evolved in Medieval Europe in response to the effectiveness of weapon designs, which in turn changed to match the strength of contemporary armor.

Sanctuary Burning: The St. Brice's Day Massacre And The Danes In England Under Aethelred The Unready, Erica Thomas

History Theses

An examination of the St. Brice's Day Massacre in conjunction with the chronicles, archaeological evidence, legal implications and ethnic identities related to the English-Danish conflict. This paper argues that examinations of the Massacre have been extremely limited in the past, and the full range of evidence must be consulted in order to uncover the full historical context and significance of this event.

The Anglo-American Reception Of Carl Schmitt From The 1930s To The Early 2000s, Benjamin T. Watkins

History Theses

This thesis examines the Anglo-American reception, from the 1930s to the early 2000s, of the ideas of the German political theorist Carl Schmitt. The introduction provides an overview the key concepts in Schmitt’s writings in the 1920s. Chapter one examines Schmitt’s influence on the German-Jewish émigré political theorists Leo Strauss and Hans Morgenthau, in an attempt to explain how Schmitt’s ideas were initially transported from Germany to the U.S. The second chapter is a more detailed case study of the American leftist journal, Telos, which played a key role in introducing Schmitt’s writings to a broader, English language audience in …

Reforming Christianity By Reforming Christians: Devotional Writings Of The Late Medieval And Reformation Era, Christopher J. Quail

History Theses

During the late medieval and Reformation era in Europe, a series of Christian devotional works were created that stressed a deeper personal relationship with Christ, rather than ritual and public devotion alone. These works span the time period from the early fifteenth century through the early seventeenth century and prepared the way for and shaped the Protestant and Roman Catholic reformations alike. The devotional works addressed here were created in the quest for reform, of both the individual and the Church. This occurred as the importance of developing a better relationship with Jesus was taking on a new urgency for …

Conservative Revolutionary Intellectuals In The Weimar Republic And National Socialist Germany: Carl Schmitt, Martin Heidegger, And Ernst Jϋnger, Vincent S. Betts

History Theses

This thesis will examine the writings and career/life paths of three conservative revolutionary intellectuals during the Weimar Republic and National Socialist Germany. The purpose of this examination is not only to provide an overview of the development of conservative revolutionary thought in Germany after World War I, but also to investigate the influence these intellectuals had on the National Socialists' seizure and consolidation of power. The works and lives of three important intellectuals will be examined: Carl Schmitt, Martin Heidegger, and Ernst Jünger. In combination with scholarly secondary literature, this thesis will be based mostly on translated primary writings.

Daniel O’Connell’S Struggle To Harness Religion And Nationalism In The Pursuit Of Universal Civil Rights And Home Rule In Ireland, Colin Daunt

History Theses

In this paper I examined the religious shift in Irish national identity, from Protestant to Catholic, in the early 19^th century. This shift was led by Daniel O’Connell, who led the Irish home rule movement up until his death in 1847. O’Connell had to maintain a delicate balance in his push for independence; he wanted a legislatively independent and unified Ireland for both Catholics and Protestants. But he could never attain the balance he desired because the Protestants were always wary of the O’Connell’s Catholicism. Their wariness was due to O’Connell’s early focus on Catholic Emancipation; he believed every …

Ralph Raico: Champion Of Authentic Liberalism, Daniel P. Stanford

History Theses

ABSTRACT OF THESIS

Ralph Raico: Champion of Authentic Liberalism

This paper explores the intellectual life and writings of Professor Emeritus in History at Buffalo State College, Ralph Raico. The central thesis seeks to portray Professor Raico as the great modern libertarian revisionist historian, and the great modern champion of historical, classical liberalism. More broadly, the work attempts to solidify Professor Raico’s reputation as a major figure in the modern American libertarian movement.

Raico’s intellectual foundations are fully developed, beginning from grade school at Bronx High School of Science, to his attendance of Ludwig von Mises’s New York University seminar, to …

Bawds, Babes, And Breeches: Regendering Theater After The English Restoration, Laura Larson

History Theses

Restoration England (1660~1720) was a raucous time for theater-making. After an 18- year Puritanical ban on the theater, and with the restoration of the worldly Charles II to the throne, English theater underwent a pivotal rebirth. At this time, women were allowed to act on the public stage for the first time, an event carrying enormous implications for gender roles. This paper argues that actresses posed a threat to the patriarchal hierarchy that was in place at this time. Their unique position in professional theater and unusual access to a public voice not available to the rest of women enabled …

Paris: Reflections Of A Modern City, Brian J. Schultz

History Theses

From 1853-1870, Baron Georges-Eugène Haussman transformed Paris from a medieval infrastructure to a modern bourgeois metropolis. This sweeping reform not only changed the aesthetic of Paris, but also its class structure, forms of leisure, and the way in which people viewed their rapidly changing society. Utilizing two icons of aesthetic modernity, Charles Baudelaire and Edouard Manet, I intend to demonstrate that revisiting Paris in the second half of the nineteenth-century, the very model of infrastructural modernization, can help us discover the roots of aesthetic modernism with all its contingencies and contradictions.