European History Commons^™

Viola Amherd Becomes President Of The Swiss Confederation

Swiss American Historical Society Review

The Swiss American Historical Society maintains ties with the Embassy of Switzerland and many of our members have an interest in both Swiss and American politics.

Annual Reports Of The Swiss American Historical Society, Thomas Quinn Marabello

Swiss American Historical Society Review

• Meeting began just after 9:30 AM Central Time.

• Officers present: Fred Gillespie, President; Tom Marabello, Vice President; Ernie Thurston, Treasurer & Membership Secretary; Richard Hacken, Webmaster

• Welcomed by Beth Zurbuchen, President and Board Chair John Etter, Swiss Center of North America, our hosts.

• John Etter said SAHS and the Swiss Center are connected by a desire to connect Swiss culture, heritage and rich history!

• Meeting began with President Fred Gillespie – proved naysayers wrong that people wouldn’t come to a non-East Coast location for the annual meeting.

• Should SAHS raise dues? Dues were last …

Spain's Vision Of Empire Through Conquest, Ideology, And Law In The Sixteenth Century, Penelope Yau-Wen

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis examines how the process of exploration, discovery, conquest and colonization of the Americas by Spain developed along with a vision of empire that involved the formulation of political theories, laws and policies by the governing elites, while responding to the actions by the conquistadors on the field. Although events on both sides of the Atlantic were not necessarily coordinated, the interests of the Court and the conquistadors intersected and were justified through a discourse that had been shaped by Humanist intellectual currents.

The thesis intends to show how the Castilian imperial vision was an experiment that began to …

The Roaring Lion Of Berlin: The Life, Thought, And Influence Of Eugen Dühring, Arden Roy

Undergraduate Research Symposium

The life and influence of 19th-century German polymath Eugen Dühring remain but a mere footnote in the history of ideas, being primarily relegated to the status of little more than a theoretical rival to Marxism in the German socialist movement and the occasional object of Freidrich Nietzsche's rhetorical flogging. Despite the current consensus on the subject, Eugen Dühring was a scholar of vast, remarkable learnedness, contributing greatly to philosophy, economics, and the natural sciences. The aim of this talk will be to clear the fog surrounding the life and work of the controversial blind scholar and give an account of …

"Killin' Nazis": How Jews Are Portrayed In Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds, Skylar Baxter

Undergraduate Research Symposium

In Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds, Jews are portrayed as violent, revenge-seeking Nazi hunters. This portrayal creates an ironic conflict within Tarantino's audience because Jews are seen as capable of the same atrocities of which they were victims. Under Hannah Arendt's definition of Nazis, the actions of the Jews in Inglorious Basterds are not equivalent to the crimes that Nazis committed. Jewish revenge fantasies are thereby not the same as the actual violence that Jews received from Nazis.

Unraveling The Truth: The Wannsee Conference And Holocaust Denial, Howie Parkes

Undergraduate Research Symposium

The Wannsee Conference, held in January 1942, marked a crucial turning point in the Holocaust, as it signified the Nazi regime's decision to systematically exterminate Europe's Jewish population on an industrial scale. This poster presentation examines the role of the Wannsee Conference in Holocaust denial narratives and the portrayal of the conference in the critically acclaimed film, Conspiracy (2001). I discuss how Holocaust deniers use the Wannsee Conference to argue against the existence of a plan to exterminate Jews or to suggest that the conference never took place. Through an analysis of the conference transcript, I demonstrate its significance in …

Ecumenical Dialogue Between Reformers And Orthodox Under The Ottomans (15-16th Century), Svetoslav Svetoszarov Ribolov

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Despite the capture of Constantinople by the Ottomans in 1453, the Orthodox Church continued to make contacts with the West. In the 15^th and 16^th centuries, Patriarchs Joasaph II and Jeremias II had ecumenical contacts and theological dialogues with two generations of Reformers. Martin Luther and Melanchthon, and later Martin Crusius, Jakob Andrеä, and their associates in Wittenberg took up the initiative for a serious ecumenical dialogue with Constantinople. Despite a sincere desire on both sides, lack of a common methodological framework in the talks did not allow for significant results. In the end, both sides did not …

Antisemitism & Vampires: The Surprising Roots Of A Popular Cultural Monster, Hannah Ross

English

This essay was for Justin Shaw’s fall 2023 English major capstone class. The essay examines antisemitism and vampires, specifically Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, John Polidori’s short story The Vampyre; A Tale, and the episode “Monster Movie” from the TV show Supernatural through the lens of antisemitic stereotypes. By looking at the literary history of the vampire one can trace its physical antisemitic stereotypes and the influence of fear of the “other” with reverse-colonization by Jews. Starting with historically classic 19th century texts and ending with a modern day television show, it is evident that the antisemitic physical stereotypes …

Rider Of The Black Horse, Theodore Schenck

Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal

This article explores the actions and ideology of the Russian revolutionary and terrorist Boris Savinkov through his final novel, The Black Horse. I argue that the book represents its author's attempt to come to terms with a world in which he feels politically homeless with the victory of his enemy, the Bolsheviks. Savinkov reckons with his fate through the liberal use of Biblical allusions and apocalyptic imagery.

“Into The Sea Of Forgetfulness”: An Analysis Of Anna Komnene’S Alexiad In Relation To The First Crusade, Breya D. Scarlett

Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal

Anna Komnene’s account of the First Crusade in her work The Alexiad provides invaluable insight into the Byzantine perspective of this pivotal event defining the 11th century. While shunned in a monastery, she wrote her celebrated work known as The Alexiad. Anna’s primary motivation for writing the biography stems from her desire to emphasize the accomplishments of her father, especially in regards to protecting the Byzantine Empire against invaders, both Latin and Turkish. For Anna, the crusade functions as a Western pretext for taking land away from the Byzantines. Comparing specific sieges in the First Crusade to their Latin …

Heroes, Victims, And Future Citizens: Representations Of French Children During World War I, Megan R. Outtrim

Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal

The effects of total war society in France during WWI dramatically altered the daily lives of both adults and children, witnessing increasing levels of patriotic rhetoric, wartime propaganda, and anti-German sentiment. Children were often made the focal point of this propaganda, as they represented the future of the nation. As such, three specific representations of children emerge from WWI propaganda in France: the heroic child, the victimized child, and the malleable future citizen. Some of these representations were depicted in propaganda meant for children specifically, while others were depicted in propaganda meant to mobilize adults in the name of children. …

Pedro Mexía And The Politics Of Translation In The Early Modern World, Erin Fairweather, Robert Fritz

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Spanish humanist Pedro Mexía (1497-1551) wrote two highly influential texts in the sixteenth century, the Silva de varia lección (1540) and the Historia imperial y cesárea (1545), which were, notably, written in Spanish, a vernacular language, as opposed to Latin, the academic language of the age. As these books presented previously inaccessible scientific and historical knowledge to the common person, they were soon translated into several languages, achieving widespread fame and influence. However, the texts have been mostly forgotten and have seen little study in recent times. Nevertheless, the Silva and the Historia can help us better understand the politics …

Galileo And The Church: An Ecological Perspective, Holly J. Lawson

Montview Journal of Research & Scholarship

The post-medieval church was surrounded by intense sociocultural factors, including the recent Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter-Reformation. Although “the Galileo affair,” as it has been dubbed in the years since, is generally presented as a case example of the conflict between science and faith or religion, it is far more complex than these two issues alone. Galileo’s discoveries supporting the Copernican theory entered a complex interplay of factors, eventually leading to a highly pressurized encounter between Galileo and the Inquisition. Galileo’s indictment is a nuanced, poignant example of the rich cultural and contextual factors that drive clashes of religion …

Silent Voices: The Missing Historiography Of Soviet Evangelicalism, Abigail Coker

Montview Journal of Research & Scholarship

The historiography of Soviet evangelicalism has suffered from both lack of attention and lack of detail-oriented, scholarly research. These failings are not surprising, considering the limitations exerted by the Cold War and the nature of the Soviet system. From the 1920s to the 1990s, the primary limitation to research of Soviet evangelicalism lay in the creation of and access to primary sources. This lack of primary sources, combined with the incautious use of government sources, marks the early works on Soviet religion. Indeed, the problem of sources was not entirely resolved until the 1980s and 1990s, when Gorbachev’s liberalization measures …

Francis Of Assisi: A Reputation Marred Beyond Recognition, Jackson Gravitt

Eleutheria: John W. Rawlings School of Divinity Academic Journal

Francis of Assisi believed his mission was to preach the gospel, and his reputation shortly after his death was that of a prolific preacher. However, members of his Order eventually began to present his life differently due to controversies that developed after his death. They began to de-emphasize his preaching ministry to instead focus on his holiness, miracles, or reformed mindedness. In the twentieth century, these works served as the foundation of Francis studies, resulting in scholars neglecting his reputation as a preacher. Francis became caricatured as anti-oracular, most notably by his association with an apocryphal quote: “Preach the gospel …

Baird, Nancy Disher, B. 1935 (Sc 3706), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3706. Notes and typescripted portions of letters, diaries and journals of women who emigrated to South Africa from the United Kingdom, 1819-1892. From collections in South African repositories, including the Cory Library, Grahamstown.

Remembering East Frisian Immigrants Who Settled Near German Valley, Illinois: A Family History Scrapbook, Derek M. Heeren

Genealogy Resources

In June of 1848, Jelle Heeren (age 25) married Taalke Park (age 15) near Rhauderfhen, East Friesland (German: Ostfriesland). One year later, on September 10, along with their infant son, they left everything that was familiar to them in Germany. Based on glowing reports of good opportunities for farming and raising a family on the American frontier, they set sail for the United States. After what must have been a traumatic voyage (including the death of their son), they entered the United States at New York City. Continuing onward, they arrived at a new East Frisian settlement in Illinois (later …

Günter Bischof And Peter Ruggenthaler, Österreich Und Der Kalte Krieg: Ein Balanceakt Zwischen Ost Und West (Graz/Wien: Leykam, 2022), Matthew P. Berg

2024 Faculty Bibliography

No abstract provided.

Catherine De’ Médicis: Seeking Strength In Schism?, Melissa E. Cuzzo

Honors College Theses

Throughout history Catherine de’ Médicis has been seen as Machiavellian and deceitful. However, what has been largely ignored is that her style of governance has been based on that of male sovereigns before her. Her goal was to keep the Valois line intact in a time of upheaval. The actions in which the queen mother participated in were an attempt to quell dissent within France and to reinforce the social order of the Ancien Régime. This paper will argue that while Catherine de’ Médicis governmental strategies were not dissimilar to previous years, her authority was undermined by her gender, alien …

“On Earth, As It Is In Heaven”: The Holy Family And Beguines In The Southern Low Countries (Ca. 1230-Ca. 1500), Harrison Klingman

Undergraduate Research Awards

Excerpt from paper: "Differing from their monastic contemporaries, beguines were uncloistered religious women who took temporary vows of chastity while splitting their lives between the religious and secular spheres. In the late twelfth century, beguine communities began on a small and informal scale until papal approval in 1233 sanctioned their lifestyle; thereafter, large communities known as beguinages started to materialize.1 During this religious movement, beguines were faced with various questions over how to structure their family lives. Navigating through these uncertain waters, beguines ultimately found a solution in the Holy Family’s example by modeling their lives after the Virgin and …