History Commons^™

Asian American Voting During The 2020 Elections: A Rising, Divided Voting Group, Vi Nguyen

CMC Senior Theses

Asian Americans continue to be an untapped force within American politics. Despite their status as the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group in the United States they have had surprisingly low political participation rates.[1] But 2020 represented a watershed moment. Campaign outreach and voter participation increased, and Asian Americans assumed new prominence on the national stage. Nonetheless, the 2020 elections also demonstrate historical divides within the community and a lack of cohesion as a voting group.

This thesis investigates Asian American voter behavior during the 2020 election and links trends within this year's elections to assess Asian American panethnicity. It …

Los Indetectables: An Examination Of Oral Histories Of Hiv+, Undetectable Gay Latino Men During Covid-19 And U=U (Undetectable = Untransmittable) Era, Angel Ornelas

CMC Senior Theses

Since the early 1990s, antiretroviral medications have made it possible to reduce viral loads of HIV/AIDS to the point of undetectability to standard blood tests. Individuals living with such low quantities of the virus have reframed our social understanding of the HIV-AIDS epidemic by redefining HIV infection as a chronic, manageable disease and challenging current public health definitions of safe-sex activity for homosexual men. HIV infection is no longer a death sentence, but it remains a life sentence requiring constant medication adherence and treatment, major changes to lifestyle habits, and a modification in sexual performances. This thesis sheds new light …

Regulating Rideshare In Progressive Era California Cities: Jitneys In San Francisco And Los Angeles 1914-1919, Nathaniel Huntington

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis looks at the regulatory responses to the jitney craze from San Francisco and Los Angeles municipal governments from 1914-1919. Beyond just looking at jitneys as a new form of public transportation, it seeks to understand discussions about the right to public space during the Progressive Era. In doing so, the burgeoning power of these city governments in shaping urban life becomes evident. Whether jitneys promoted or hurt the public good became a central question, often framed around how much space jitneys should be given. It argues that in regulating where the jitney could operate, municipalities sought to maintain …

Maledictum Bulgaricus: Bulgaria’S Perpetual Stagnation Due To Its Negative National Narrative And Political Nostalgia, Yoana Sidzhimova

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis explores how Bulgaria has internalized negative outcomes in occupation, war, and it's transition to a democracy to fuel a negative national narrative and lead to the rise of political nostalgia. Then negativity and degree of political nostalgia in Bulgaria has only increased with time, stagnating the nation's development.

The Dynamic Relationship Between Young Spanish Catholics And The Church, Caroline Cox

CMC Senior Theses

Research Question: How is the commitment of Spaniards to Catholicism changing with younger generations? And why is this relevant given Spain’s deep roots with the religion?

The Catholic Church and Spain have been highly involved with each other for centuries. It is possible that the Church’s controversies and conservative values are distancing young members from pursuing a stronger relationship with their faith. I predicted that more young Spanish Catholics’ commitment to the Church was wavering because of three potential reasons: increased security and education, child sex abuse scandals involving clergymen, and the institution’s outdated attitudes. I conducted a study …

“The Spirit Of Revolution:” The Impact Of Rum On The Formation Of The United States, Charles Streator

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis explores the impact of rum, be it the distillation, consumption, or trade of it, upon the formation of the American Revolution and the desire of American Colonists for independence. Through the analysis of three distinct subfactors: rum as an economic force, rum as a political tool, and the cultural and societal impacts of the rum trade and its subsequent removal from the American ethos, this project contends that rum as a commodity became a driving factor in the creation of the United States. While much has been written on the roles of stamps, sugar, and tea in the …