Intellectual History Commons^™

The Art And Mystery Of Pragmatic History, David Hardin

History Theses

This thesis considers how we make meaning in our individual lives and in practice as historians. From an initializing question —Why do people believe things that have either been proven false or shown improbable?— born out of historical discourse in the liminal space between mythology and history, this thesis embarks on a inquiry into meaning that is both deeply philosophical and practical. The work develops a historical method that falls within the tradition of Pragmatism, and then turns this method toward two case studies (Pedro Huízar and Señora Candelaria) from San Antonio, Texas. The aim is to explore two myths …

Translating Faith And Philosophy: The Engagement Of The Jesuit Strategy Of Accommodation In Chinese Syncretic And Anti-Heterodox Traditions And The Reception Of Chinese Ideas In Europe, Finn Kearney

History Theses

This paper attempts to expand on the scholarship surrounding the Jesuit strategy of cultural accommodation in China by Father Matteo Ricci by examining the influence of Chinese intellectual traditions on its inception and development. It incorporates the works of Zhu Xi, Matteo Ricci, and Philippe Couplet among others to establish a connection between the native Chinese traditions of syncretism and anti-heterodox scholarship, the process of cultural exchange between the Jesuits and the Chinese literati, and the translation and transmission of Chinese ideas to Europe in the late 16th and 17th centuries. This paper also uses this common thread to explain …

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 …

Woodrow Wilson The "Possessive" And Political Historian: Discovering An Identification With The American Founding, Alex Plant

History Theses

Before Woodrow Wilson became President of the United States he was a prolific writer of political science and history. While his political science works have received much attention from political scientists and historians alike, his historical endeavors have been criticized for their literary style, lack of primary research, as well as their failure to contribute anything new to the realm of historiography. As a result, Wilson's five volume history of the United States, History of the American People, and his biography, George Washington, have been labeled as "bad history" and remain an unexplored area of Wilsonian scholarship. An examination of …

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.

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 …