History Commons^™

Session 2: Panel 1: Presenter 2 (Paper) -- Pope Leo X And The St. Peter’S Indulgence: The Accidental Path To Reformation And Church Fragmentation, Charlotte Levine

Young Historians Conference

Throughout the history of the Catholic Church, the concept of of Original Sin has defined prayer and ritual. As this idea evolved throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance, its teachings proved to be profitable, as exemplified by the creation of indulgences. This paper examines the sale of indulgences for the rebuilding of St. Peter’s Basilica under the jurisdiction of Pope Leo X from 1515–1518, and its implications on the Catholic Church’s splintering authority in Western Europe. As a direct effect of the use of indulgences for financial gain, Martin Luther wrote and presented his Ninety Five Theses, an event widely …

Undressing For Redress: The Significance Of Nigerian Women’S Naked Protests, Bright Alozie

Black Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Social media went abuzz on July 23, 2020, when hundreds of women – mostly naked – staged a protest in the northwestern state of Kaduna, Nigeria. Wailing and rolling on the ground, they protested at the killing of people in ongoing attacks on their community.

The protesters, mostly mothers, demanded justice and called on the government, security agencies and international community to intervene.

Such naked protests are not new in Nigeria. Traditionally, among the Igbo and Yoruba of Nigeria, stripping naked signifies a curse against those targeted. Sometimes, mothers strip naked to put a curse on their truant sons or …

How Igbo Women Used Petitions To Influence British Authorities During Colonial Rule, Bright Alozie

Black Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Selected petitions and written correspondence between Igbo women and British officials between 1892 and 1960 shed fresh light on how women navigated male-dominated colonial institutions and structures of the time.

African women acted in varied and complex ways to the situations they found themselves in. This ranged from subtle to overt opposition, and sometimes violent resistance.

One response was through petition writing as women took to the pen to articulate their concerns. In my research, I examined several petitions written by Igbo women to British officials during the colonial period. I found that petition writing was part of the complex …