History Commons^™

Session 2: Panel 2: Presenter 3 (Paper) -- Silver Mining And Commerce: Initiation Of The Global Economy, Celeste Johnson

Young Historians Conference

Silver was the metal that initiated interdependence throughout the world; establishing connections between all sectors of the globe. From as early as 3,000 BCE, to the present day, silver production has uniquely inspired the way our modern society has formed and how it functions. Silver’s influence can be tracked through three epochs of time: 3,000 BCE - 1500 CE, 1400-1800, and 1850-present. During the earliest period, introductory mining practices, cross-cultural trade, methods of processing technology, and the beginning of coins, are shown in relation to select societies to demonstrate impacts and influence—the Egyptians, the Greek Empire, the Roman Empire, and …

Session 2: Panel 2: Presenter 2 (Paper) -- The History Of Bathing: A Cross-Cultural Tradition, Ben Iboshi

Young Historians Conference

This essay discusses how bathing practices worldwide have evolved throughout history through cultural interaction. While there is much literature on how bathing practices in specific regions have changed over time, few take a global perspective and track where bathing rituals originate and how they spread. Using bathing as a unit of analysis can reveal interactions and influences between cultures. The essay is divided into three periods in which bathing practices are analyzed: ancient, medieval, and modern. In the ancient period, the spread of Hindu and Buddhist bathing practices is discussed, as well as how Greek bathing practices went on to …

Session 2: Panel 1: Presenter 1 (Paper) -- The Struggle Of The Soul Medieval Women Mystics And The Constraints Of The Orthodoxy, Kasaundra A. Bonanno

Young Historians Conference

First Corinthians 14:34 tells us, “let your women keep silence in the churches for it is not permitted unto them to speak.” But what happened when medieval women in the 12-15th centuries did speak, and what techniques did they apply to gain credibility? This paper explores the various methods (along with cultural aspects such as the appearance of piousness) women mystics utilized to gain power within the Church in a time when their voices were silenced, and the factors that allowed individuals such as Catherine of Siena to gain incredible influence where individuals like Joan of Arc were burned at …

Session 2: Panel 3: Presenter 1 (Paper) -- Friend Or Foe?: The American Response To The Armenian Genocide, 1890-1920, Mete Bakircioglu

Young Historians Conference

This paper analyzes how the American response to the Armenian Genocide was riddled with neglect, false promises, and selfish intentions. Beginning in the early 20th century, the American public was galvanized in support of Armenians under the oppressive rule of the Ottoman Empire, but Congress prioritized relations with the Empire and passed no foreign policy to ameliorate the plight of Armenians. The United States’ posturing as an international arbiter of justice, especially during the Wilson Administration, was a façade to expand global influence.

Session 2: Panel 3: Presenter 2 (Paper) -- The Anti-Chinese Movement And The Chinese Exclusion Act Of 1882, Melanie Du

Young Historians Conference

The paper goes into detail about the history of the Chinese in America beginning at their first large immigration to the U.S. during the Gold Rush period and ending in the early 1900s when anti-Chinese legislation was finally banned. The focus is on the influence of labor unions on anti-Chinese legislation and how their protests ultimately influenced the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act, the first of its kind to restrict immigration of an entire race. The paper follows how labor unions were able to develop a regional issue into a national one in order to achieve their goal of …

Session 2: Panel 3: Presenter 4 (Paper) -- Internment: The Legal Challenges And Effects Of Displacement On Japanese Americans, Arianna S. Sinlapasai-Okamura

Young Historians Conference

Although the history of Executive Order 9066 and the subsequent Japanese-American internment is well known, the legal struggles against the internment process and the consequences of that displacement are often overlooked. In an attempt to end policies that were primarily motivated by racial prejudice, four first-generation Japanese Americans took it upon themselves to appeal four different cases to the Supreme Court. However, it was not until the decision of the last of the four Supreme Court cases, Ex Parte Endo, that Japanese Americans received even a sliver of justice for the discrimination they had faced. Having lost their work, homes, …

Session 2: Panel 2: Presenter 1 (Paper) -- A Brief History Of Footwear, Tobias B. Boudreau

Young Historians Conference

The use of footwear as a unit of analysis will help historians re-evaluate the relationship between technological diffusion and culture. Shoes are a common item across the globe, regardless of geographical, cultural, and economic divisions, and have been for a long time. Footwear reflects the sociopolitical, economic, and cultural environment of its owner, as well as characteristics of the owner themself. Shoes have taken on significant symbolic roles in art, literature, and everyday life. Essay is divided into four sections; Prehistory, Ancient, Middle Ages, Modern. Various examples from each time period are explained, compared with one another, and connected together …

Session 2: Panel 1: Presenter 3 (Paper) -- Hunting Power Through Witch Hunts In Early Modern Scotland, Devika D. Narendra

Young Historians Conference

Witch hunts occurred throughout early modern Europe and few countries were unaffected by the rampant prosecution of “witches.” Although many places experienced such witch hunts, Scotland uniquely saw a rapid increase in witch trials during the reign of King James the VI. The King, who prior to ascending the throne had not expressed interest in the prosecution of witches, suddenly focused his leadership on witch hunts. This paper explores the reasons King James VI increased Scotland’s witch prosecutions. Specifically, this paper analyzes how the increasing witch trials were correlated to various attacks on King James’ power and how the prosecutions …

Session 1: Panel 3: Presenter 1 (Paper) -- Fight For Star Wars: The Reagan Doctrine And The Ending Of The Cold War, Roselyn S. Dai

Young Historians Conference

The strenuous conflict between the US and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, which persisted for over four decades, finally came to a close in the early 1990’s, shortly after the presidency of Ronald Reagan. A common assumption is that Reagan’s hardline foreign policies and weapons buildup finally forced the Soviet Union to back down. However, this assumption is only a small portion of the picture. The cause for the ending of the Cold War is a much more nuanced story centered not only around the arms race but also the collapsing Soviet economy and the domestic issues of …

Session 1: Panel 2: Presenter 3 (Paper) -- Nonbinary Significance: Roles And Perceptions Throughout History, Minami S. Powers

Young Historians Conference

Nonbinary people existed in many different cultures and often held special or important roles before their presence was decimated by colonization. Despite this, nonbinary people are still around today, whether with a cultural aspect to their identity or not. In this paper, three cultural examples are given. The hijra of India have been around for a long time, and are considered able to bless people. The British came and enacted laws that led them to be majorly stigmatized, and today they are still struggling to gain acceptance. Similarly, in Indonesia, the bissu have been priests for hundreds of years, and …

Session 1: Panel 3: Presenter 2 (Paper) -- Fighting For Freedom: Jazz And The Cold War, Cole H. Powers

Young Historians Conference

As part of a Cold War propaganda campaign, the U.S. State Department sponsored the international tours of prominent American jazz musicians. Many Americans saw jazz as representative of uniquely American freedom, and so the music functioned perfectly as a Cold War propaganda weapon. At the same time, jazz was powerfully symbolic of freedom in the context of the Civil Rights Movement. This paper explores the contradictions that arose between these two visions of freedom, and between the rhetoric and reality of U.S. Cold War policy. It first outlines the administrative history behind the program before highlighting six of the countless …

Session 1: Panel 2: Presenter 1 (Paper) -- The Gay Rights Movement: A Reaction To The Lavender Scare, Brianna Michelle Anderson

Young Historians Conference

In the 1950s, the federal government began to systematically root out gay individuals from the civil service in what is known as the “Lavender Scare.” This eradication paralleled McCarthyism and was apart of the larger homophobic culture. A closer look at the media reveals how this panic was spread throughout the nation. Despite persecution in and out of the workplace, the voices of those oppressed were not irreversibly silenced. In fact, the Lavender Scare gave rise to pioneers of the gay rights movement, nearly a decade before the Stonewall Riots.

Session 1: Panel 1: Presenter 3 (Paper) -- The Alaska Native Claim Settlement Act: The Impact On Alaskan Natives, Madeleine G. Stewart

Young Historians Conference

Alaska Natives have been living on the land that is now known as Alaska since time immemorial. Although that is the case, legally that does not give them immediate rights to the land in the colonial world. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANSCA) was put in place to resolve the aboriginal land claims that were ignored when Alaska became a state in 1959. This forced Alaskan Natives to come together and make an agreement with the United States government. In the end, ANCSA made it possible to exploit the land for natural resources, which greatly impacted and …

Session 1: Panel 1: Presenter 2 (Paper) -- The Rogue River War 1855-1856, Sara E. Shallenberger

Young Historians Conference

The Rogue River War of 1855 to 1856 was a series of armed conflicts fought between U.S. Army regulars, local militia, and a conglomerate of indigenous groups in the Rogue River watershed. The main cause of the conflict was the intrusion of white settlers and miners into the territory of the indigenous people of the Rogue River. These white immigrants misused resources upon which the local indigenous people relied and violently retaliated against local indigenous people for misdeeds they often did not commit. The Lupton Massacre, Battle of Hungry Hill, and the Battle of Big Bend serve as critical points …

Session 1: Panel 3: Presenter 3 (Paper) -- The Reforms Of Mikhail Gorbachev And Their Effect On The Ussr, Fevronia M. Van Sickle

Young Historians Conference

This paper explores the influence of Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies on Soviet governance in relation to the USSR’s foundational ideology of communism, and the factors that led to the Union’s demise.

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, most commonly referred to as the USSR, came into being in the early 20th century and lasted only around seventy years. Built upon revolutionary Marxist ideology, the USSR governed according to the ideology of communism while simultaneously contradicting the very ideology that formed its foundations, such as clinging to the existence of a state. Mikhail Gorbachev, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the …

Session 1: Panel 2: Presenter 2 (Paper) -- The Irish Language And Nationalism In The 20th Century, Charlotte Cody

Young Historians Conference

Under centuries of British colonial rule, mass emigration, and discriminatory laws, the Irish language took a secondary position to English. As Irish nationalist ideology gained momentum in the early 20th century, Irish became useful and popular as a powerful symbol of resilience and a discrete national identity. However, the significance of Irish to nationalism had a mixed impact on its perception across the island due to the violence and sectarianism that accompanied the struggle for independence. This paper explores the influence that this divisive history had and continues to exert on the perception of and legislation supporting the Irish language, …

Session 1: Panel 1: Presenter 1 (Paper) -- “To Hell Or Connaught:” How British Colonizers Both Caused And Benefitted From The Irish Potato Famine, Ruby Lewis

Young Historians Conference

The Irish potato famine is well-known for the suffering and death it inflicted upon the masses of Irish peasantry between 1845 and 1848. The famine is often remembered and mourned as the tragic but unavoidable result of natural circumstances, and the blight that swept through the potato crop year after year is attributed as the sole cause of starvation. This misrepresentation of the famine’s history ignores the role of the British colonizer state in establishing conditions in Ireland that led to famine and exacerbating the suffering of the Irish through neglect. This paper explores the role of the British colonial …

31st Annual Young Historians Conference, Portland State University History Department, Portland State University Challenge Program

Young Historians Conference

This is the 2021 Young Historians Conference schedule and abstracts.

Welcome And Full Program With Abstracts, Jennifer Kerns, Karen Bjork

Young Historians Conference

Dr. Jennifer Kerns, Department of History, welcomes participants to the 31st Annual Young Historians Conference, held virtually on May 19, 2021.

Karen Bjork, Head of Digital Initiatives, PSU Library, provides an overview of PDXScholar, the campus repository for PSU, and the Young Historians Conference collection.