History Commons^™

La Exclusion Del Otro: Los Efectos Negativos Del Nacionalismo En Flores De Otro Mundo (1999) Y Forasters (2008), Brianna Prudencia Gutiérrez

Honors Theses

This thesis examines two films for their critique on the damaging effects of nationalism on both the native and foreign populations in rural Spain and urban Catalonia. The two films are Flores de otro mundo (Flowers from another world) (1999), directed by Spanish director Iciar Bollain, and Forasters (Outsiders) (2008), a film by Catalan director Ventura Pons, based on Sergi Belbel's play. The theoretical framework for this study is based on Michael Billig's terms: "hot" and "banal" nationalism. According to Billig, nationalism itself is the emotional and mental force that creates nation-states or threatens the stability …

Impact Of The Nuclear Phase-Out In Germany: Examining The Costs And Benefits Of Aggresive Energy Policy In Relation To A Sustainable Future, David M. Olio

Honors Theses

The German nuclear phase-out legislation of 2011 will cause substantial changes in the country's energy mix, energy generation and electricity grid demands. The phase-out exists as part of the Energiewende, or energy transition, occurring in Germany where renewable energy has been subsidized to replace the share of nuclear energy, which is decreasing annually and moving towards a complete phase-out in 2022. This paper will analyze the benefits and costs of Germany's decision to phase out nuclear power. First, it will explore the dynamic history of German energy policy and discuss how a history of anti-nuclear sentiments led to the nuclear …

"We Poor Devils": The Interactions Shared Experiences And Differing Fates Of The Cheyenne Sioux Buffalo Soldiers And U.S. Army In A Post-Civil War America: 1865- 1890, Meghan Keegan

Honors Theses

As a real yet imagined place, the “American West” has a mythical aura surrounding it that hides a deeper reality of extreme violence and chaos. It is a place where great feats have been achieved and profound defeats have been suffered. The wars fought over control of the Great Plains lasted longer than any other armed conflict in United States history. From 1865 through 1890, the chaotic nature of seemingly unorganized warfare and the ensuing violence plagued the lives of those who, either willingly or not, took art. The two most recognizable and seemingly homogenous groups in this conflict were …

From Woody Guthrie To The Big Muddy: The Evolution Of Political Music In America From World War I To The Late 1960s, Alexander B. Kouwenhoven

Honors Theses

Throughout the course of American history, music has served as a vital cultural mode for the expression and articulation of the collective American experience. Perhaps the most iconic connection between music and politics in American history occurred during the 1960s in the era of the counterculture and the Vietnam War. During this period, rock ‘n’ roll musicians became the figureheads for the Anti-War campaign and represented the political objectives of the New Left. However, the iconic status of these political musicians did not arise in a vacuum. These musicians, and their political importance in America can trace its origins to …

No One Expects The Spanish Inquisition: Witchcraft Trials In Basque Spain And Southwestern Germany, Alexandra C. Steed

Honors Theses

The age of witch trials lasted from 1450 to 1750 and encompassed most of Western Europe. Seventy-five percent of all witchcraft trials took place in Germany, and 480 occurred in Southwestern Germany. Germany lacked centralized leadership, and lack of control over a region’s governing body meant a prince or a bishop could burn as many people as he saw fit. The trials in Southwestern Germany lasted from 1562 to 1684 and killed between 1,000 and 1,500 people. The trials in Southwestern Germany are Central because they all shared similar elements. Many of the towns were undergoing social shifts because of …

Symbols Of A Bourgeois Empire: The Intersection Of Class And Government During Paris's Transformation Into A Middle-Class Capital, Brian Teitelbaum

Honors Theses

Between 1853 and 1870 the face of Paris was dramatically altered by the modernization effort on the part of the Second French Empire. Hundreds of thousands were displaced, billions of francs were paid out by the government, and old Paris gave way to the new. This is important today to the study of history as it marks the definitive end of an era of aristocratic oriented government and the start of the prominence afforded to the middle classes.

The renovation of Paris and the Palais Garnier defined an architectural style called Second Empire that was copied by many cities across …

Stronger For Scotland: The Rise Of The Modern Scottish Nationalist Movement, Thomas Wilson

Honors Theses

This research analyzes the growth of the Scottish Nationalist Party, currently Scotland’s main party in Scottish Parliament. The growth of the nationalist movement began in the 1920s and took a long period of formative years before the movement grew into the Scottish Nationalist party seen today. The nationalist movement was most successful in the latter years of the 20th century, but the most important stages of the nationalist movement were its formative years in from the 1920s through the 1940s. This thesis analyzes the nationalist’s developmental process of determining the goal of the nationalist movement and the methods the movement …

Role Des Femmes Dans La France De Vichy Pendant L'Occupation Allemande, Elizabeth Almonte

Honors Theses

The German occupation of France caused several changes in the lives of people living in France at the time. Although the French government continued having legal authority over the country as per specified in the Franco-German Armistice the occupied zone was in reality under German military administration. Meanwhile the "free zone" was undergoing numerous changes that affected the French population especially women and their role in society. Vichy France the name given to the French government under the administration of Philippe Petain utilized women as scapegoats for the defeat and subsequent occupation of France by the German army. In order …

When Personal Becomes Profitable: Data Collection And The Complex Link Between Corporate And Government Surveillance And The Risk To Civil Liberties, Justin Gump

Honors Theses

Personal data represents a commodity of increasing interest to both the United States government and large corporations. While their reasons differ, the two powerful entities have worked together to radically expand the domestic surveillance activities in the U.S. As the government surreptitiously expanded its domestic surveillance under the guise of its “war on terror,” it quickly realized that the advanced technology and access to personal data held by many large corporations presented a valuable source of surveillance information. These companies, in turn, similarly saw an opportunity for revenue in both the sale of the data and large governmental contracts to …

Multi-Agent Simulation Of The Battle Of Ankara, 1402, Ruili Tang

Honors Theses

In 1402, at the north of city Ankara, Turkey, a battle between Ottoman Empire and Tamerlane Empire decided the fate of Europe and Asia. Although historians largely agree on the general battle procedure, the details are still open to dispute. Several factors may have contributed to the Ottoman defeat, such as the overwhelming size of Tamerlanes army, poisoned water, the tactical formations of the military units, and betrayal by the Tartar cavalry in the Ottoman left wing. The approach is divided into two stages: the simulation stage, which provides data to analyze the complex interactions of autonomous agents, and the …

An Evaluation Of The Farc, Mln-T, Fmln :The Impact Of Guerrilla Warfare On Democratic Stability In Latin America, Anthony Wright

Honors Theses

Throughout the history of Latin America there have been many revolutions that have reshaped the political fabric of the entire continent. This thesis will seek to explore the impact that the following three movements have had: The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) in El Salvador, Las Fuerzas Armadas de la República de Colombia (FARC), and the Tupamaros (MLN-T) in Uruguay. When examining these three movements the research will include histories and discussions of each revolution and text regarding the strength of democracy within the countries. These sections will then be supported with data regarding democracy and the people’s perspectives …

Dress And Womanhood Of Ancient Rome, Eliza Burbano

Honors Theses

Fashion transcends its own role of imagery, as it becomes the medium through which individuals express their place in society. Fashion history would not consider the ancient world as part of the history of the discipline. Nevertheless, the function of dress in ancient cultures like that of Rome has definitely helped shape social hierarchies that are still present today. Clothing structured Roman society deeply, just as class, race, and sexuality did. Scholar Kelly Olson (2002) defines the function of clothing as part of a sign system. This study argues that dress in ancient Rome goes beyond this idea, in that …

Saving Socrates: A New Socratic Portrait, Anthony Lobrace

Honors Theses

In 399 B.C. Socrates was indicted on charges of asebeia, or impiety and corrupting the youth. He was brought before a jury of some 500 Athenians in a type of trial known as agon timetos, or “trial of assessment”. Casting their votes, the vast majority of the jurors found Socrates guilty of the offenses he was accused of. A week later he drank a cup of hemlock and died in his prison cell. In what follows I will draw a new portrait of Socrates. This will be constructed from details found in Aristophanes’ the Clouds, as well as Socratic dialogues. …

Game Of Thrones And Ancient Rome, Alexander Arnold

Honors Theses

Ancient Roman society to this day influences different aspects of modern life. One of these aspects includes visual media and entertainment. Renowned by ancient sources and secondary sources as one of the most successful and powerful empires throughout history, the actions of the Romans inspire spectacles of amusement on contemporary award-winning movies and television shows. This would include movies like Gladiator and Spartacus along with television shows like Rome. This study investigates the award-winning, HBO television series Game of Thrones. The show is adapted from a novel series entitled A Song of Ice and Fire, written by George …

Une Analyse Des Réponses À La Montée De L’Islam Radical En France, Austin Bannister

Honors Theses

My study begins with a close look at the Parisian “banlieue” and popular imagery associated with it. When the large wave of immigrants came to France in the 1950’s, they were very poor and settled in the outskirts of Paris. Today, even some sixty years later, this “banlieue” is roughly synonymous with “slums” or “shantytowns” and is associated with criminal activity, very poor inhabitants, and violence. A distinction between beautiful Paris and the rundown banlieue is defined not only by the appearance of their respective buildings, but by the lives of their inhabitants as well. There is a clear social …

A Gilded Cage: A Feminist Analysis Of Manor House Literature, Katelyn Billings

Honors Theses

This thesis focuses on women struggling with social rules and gender restrictions in Victorian and Edwardian English manor houses. The culture of the manor home had an incredibly powerful impact on the female protagonists of the literary texts I analyze, and in this thesis, I demonstrate how it stifled the growth and agency of women. With the end of the age of the British Great Houses in the twentieth century, there was the simultaneous rise of the New Woman, an emerging cultural icon that challenged conservative Victorian conventions. With the values and ideologies surrounding the New Woman in mind, this …

La Epoca De #Nofilter: El Impacto De Los Medios Sociales En La Imagen Corporal Latina, Rebecca Calvo-Cruz

Honors Theses

Compartiendo fotos se ha convertido en un medio fundamental de comunicación que ofrece a los usuarios la oportunidad de un examen constante de sí mismos y otros. De hecho, a medida que más plataformas de medios sociales basados en fotos, como Instagram, ganan popularidad, cada vez es normal para los adultos jóvenes compartir fotos personales con el mundo en línea. Este año, el 54% de los usuarios del Internet mayores del año 18 dicen que “publican fotos originales en línea”, en comparación con 46% en 2012 (Duggan 2013). En Facebook, hay casi 300 millones de fotos publicadas cada día, que …

Boudicca's Rebellion Against The Roman Empire In 60 Ad, Daniel Cohen

Honors Theses

This paper examines the rebellion of Boudicca, the queen of the Iceni tribe, during the Roman Empire’s occupation of Britannia in 60 AD. The study shows that had Boudicca not changed her winning strategy in one key battle, she could have forced the Roman Empire to withdraw their presence from Britannia, at least until it was prudent to invade again. This paper analyzes the few extant historical accounts available on Boudicca, namely those of the Roman historians Tacitus and Cassius Dio, to explore the effectiveness of tactics on both sides of the rebellion. The sources reveal that Boudicca enjoyed initial …

Constructing A Narrative Of Irish Republicanism 1913 - 1921, Christopher Graff

Honors Theses

The Easter Rising of 1916 and subsequent Anglo-Irish War were two seminal events in contemporary Irish history, and are especially pertinent as the 100th anniversary of the Rising approaches this year. In this thesis, I examine the underlying causes of the Easter Rising, specifically the growing influence of the Irish Republican Brotherhood and an increase in Irish Nationalism. I then trace the planning, preparation, and execution of the Easter Rising, which was not a popular uprising, but rather an armed insurrection led by a small group of militarized radicals. I also analyze the political, social, and economic consequences of the …

L' Obscurite' Manifestee (A Manifested Obscurity), Roswald Morales

Honors Theses

There are three directors that have revolutionized the world of French cinema by bringing to the forefront topics that make its audiences uncomfortable. Abdellatif Kechiche, director of the film Black Venus (2010), Ousmane Sembène, director of the film Black Girl (1966), and Céline Sciamma, director of the film Girlhood (2014) have become renowned for discussing the portrayal of black women in French society. This is a topic at hand that reveals the devastating truth behind French society in regarding black women during various eras. Black Venus narrates the life of an African woman during the slavery period in Europe. Black …

Remember The Holocaust And The Killing Fields: A Comparative Study, Ilan Levine

Honors Theses

Why is the Holocaust almost universally remembered as the most horrific event in the modern age while the Cambodian genocide is hardly remembered both in and outside of Cambodia? Do the two events share similar aspects despite their differences, and what implication does that have on a wider understanding of both genocides? This thesis explores these questions by examining how the Holocaust and Cambodian genocide (killing fields) have been remembered over time. Examining both shows the respective roads of memorialization that each have taken and reveals where the two catastrophes share major aspects: notably, the tactics used by the perpetrators, …

Voices Trapped Within The Portrait: Annetje Kool Pieter Vanderlyn And The Expectations Regarding Gender In Public And Private Spheres In A Burgeoning Nation, Abigail Hollander

Honors Theses

The main subjects of this study, Pieter Vanderlyn, the attributed artist of “A Portrait of Annetje Kool” (c.1740), and Annetje Kool, the sitter, both had subversive identities relative to the sociocultural expectations of New Netherland, a Hudson River Valley based settlement. The oil portrait on canvas depicts a young woman in an elaborate dress with lace and gilt embellishments. To understand this portrait’s historical context, this thesis examines how male and female voices functioned on the margins of the moral boundaries that shaped expectations of gender appropriate thought and action during the colonial, revolutionary, and post-revolutionary eras in New York …

The Persistence Of Patriarchy In Latin America: An Analysis Of Negative And Positive Trends, Eliza Burbano

Honors Theses

The last 25 years have seen the rise of women as political leaders in Latin America. There are now three female presidents, including Michelle Bachelet (Chile), Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (Argentina), and Dilma Rousseff (Brazil). This sociopolitical progress owes its success to the consolidation of democratic institutions, a strong feminist movements such as Argentina’s “Movimiento Nacional de Mujeres” and a strong regional push towards egalitarian legislation. According to ECLAC there are a number of important feminist movements in the region that catalyze egalitarian legislative changes. #NIUNAMENOS is one of such campaigns promoting zero tolerance against gender violence and aims is …

Faithlessly Or Faithless Lie?: The Name Symbolism Conundrum In Sedgwick's Hope Leslie, Erin Wade

Honors Theses

This thesis focuses on the symbolic importance of names in Catharine Maria Sedgwick’s Hope Leslie. While, historically, other scholars have examined the title character’s name, I argue that examining the oft-ignored significance of Faith Leslie’s name is extraordinarily important to the thematic content of the novel and could be more interesting than an examination of Hope Leslie’s name. To delve fully into the possible meanings of the dual pronunciations of Faith’s name — as either faithlessly or faithless lie — I look at religious discrimination against Catholics and Natives during the 17th and 19th centuries, as well as literary …

Unveiling Laïcité: Secularism Algerian Muslims And The Headscarf Affair In Modern France, Coleen Nugent

Honors Theses

The historical relationship between the French state and its form of secularism, laïcité, and the French Muslim population is fraught with conflict, misunderstanding, and ambivalence. Laïcité, is a form of secularism unique to France, thus why it refuses to be translated from its native French. France also has a unique colonial relationship with Algeria, which was considered an integral part of France during France's colonial empire. Both the history of laïcité and the history of this colonial relationship help to explain the modern relationship between laïcité and the French Muslim population. In order to analyze this conflict, the "Head Scarf …

El Paralelismo Entre Los Cambios Demograficos Y Los Medios Sociales Y Su Impacto En El Activismo En America Latina, Ashley Beccia

Honors Theses

En la segunda mitad del siglo XX, los avances sociales, especialmente en los ámbitos tecnológicos y médicos, cambiaron la manera en que viven los seres humanos. Los sectores demográficos empezaron a experimentar grandes transformaciones debido a la reducción de la tasa de mortalidad infantil y el crecimiento de la expectativa de vida (Saad 240). Como consecuencia, ha emergido una nueva época de vida, que se llama la edad de adulta emergente, que es caracterizada por la exploración y construcción de la identidad y creencias personales (Smith y Snell 6). Las nuevas estructuras sociales alrededor del mundo han requerido que los …

Las Madres De Plaza De Mayo Y Los Medios Sociales: La No Desaparicion De Los Desaparecidos, Matthew Christal

Honors Theses

El diccionario Merriam Webster define "desaparecer" de varias maneras: dejar de ser visible: pasar fuera de vista: dejar de existir: morir o desaparecer por completo: perderse: ir a un lugar que no se conoce. En el caso de las Madres de Plaza de Mayo, estas definiciones son referencias a sus hijos e hijas que desaparecieron durante la guerra sucia. Normalmente, cuando pensamos en periodos de historia muy oscuros, pensamos en eventos como el holocausto. La guerra sucia fue el “holocausto” para los argentinos entre 1976 hasta 1983. Las madres de los desaparecidos han sido la razón por qué las memorias …

Reforming Japan: Measuring The Success Of The Allied Occupation's Economic Educational And Constitutional, Gordon Duncan

Honors Theses

Following the surrender of Japan on September 2 of 1945, American forces occupied Japan in an attempt to remove Japan’s ability to wage aggressive war. From 1945 to 1952, Occupation authorities in Tokyo under General Douglas MacArthur undertook a number of reforms intended to ‘demilitarize’ and ‘democratize’ Japan, some of which left major structural changes to the pre-war Japanese system. This thesis will focus on three reforms: the dissolution of Japan’s zaibatsu (large industrial conglomerates such as Nissan), democratization of the education system, and Article IX of Japan’s Constitution which bans Japan from possessing military forces. I analyze the success …

The Price Of Democracy: Hong Kong's Identity Crisis In The Umbrella Revolution, Jen Keung

Honors Theses

Most past research on the democratization of Hong Kong has been generally concerned about on the ramifications of institutional power dynamics, and aimed to inform an audience whose primary interests were in China. Accordingly, understandings of the culture and society of Hong Kong becomes limited, as they serve to support an argument for or against Chinese regional despotism. From public media coverage to scholarship articles, very little attention has been paid to the transformations of Hong Kong at the individual level. In a society that has been through constant social, economic and political transformations in the past decades, Hong Kong …

The Romanization Of Romania: A Look At The Influence Of The Roman Military On Romanian History And Heritage, Colleen Ann Lovely

Honors Theses

This thesis looks at the Roman military and how it was the driving force which spread Roman culture. The Roman military stabilized regions, providing protection and security for regions to develop culturally and economically. Roman soldiers brought with them their native cultures, languages, and religions, which spread through their interactions and connections with local peoples and the communities in which they were stationed. This thesis looks at that impact on the Halmyris Fortress and at the great province of Dacia. The effects this “Romanization” of the region influenced the culture, language, and heritage of the later Romanian state. Within this …