Digital Commons Network^™

Imagination, Performance, Expression: Unraveling Global Pakistani Identity, Omaer Naeem

Senior Honors Papers / Undergraduate Theses

Expressions of Pakistani identity are presently being flattened out by both the state and global West, dominantly being explored through religion. This project argues that gender is used domestically and internationally to present a multifaceted resistance to the state’s idea of the national identity. This project interrogates the creation of global Pakistani identity through examining the historical antecedents in imagining Pakistan, resistance to the state’s identity- construction process demonstrated in performing Pakistan, and transnational expressions of identity. This project argues that gender, while leveraged by the state in a top-down construction of national identity, has been used bottom-up to reconfigure …

Queerform/Ing, Matthew Solon-Lee Weimer

Art Theses and Dissertations

My artwork is situated within and around vessels and the Queer Homoerotic World and explores sexuality as a Demisexual within them. This is accomplished through the two processes of my creation, Minivague and Queerform/ing: balancing sexual tension and explicit expression, while subverting traditional norms and stereotypes with queerness to distance oneself from stereotypical Gay Art. Altering/emphasizing makes the artwork more romantic, lighter, whimsical, softer, and tender than the figure/s and the situations actually are. The process is also emphasizing what one sees or wants to be seen. The Pink Boy becomes a celebration of intimacy of any form. I discuss …

History In The Present Tense: News And History On The Radio, 1924-1944, Steven R. Kostelecky

History ETDs

This dissertation addresses questions about the contested claim to an authoritative historical voice on American radio from its earliest days in the 1920s to its role in the Second World War in the 1940s. My major arguments involve, first, how the development of radio news in the 1930s took on the nature of “history in the moment” with live event programming—something its rival, the newspapers could not do. Secondly, with the press of world events, I argue, history and the news increasingly seemed to dovetail into the other on the radio, and the American Historical Association debated the most effective …

Moral Exemplars Of Note - Teresa Langness, Sam And Pearl Oliner

Moral Exemplars Study

No abstract provided.

Pleas For Toleration Against The Call Of Treason: The 1890 Shanghai Protestant Missionary Conference And The Controversy Over Chinese Rites, Joseph Seeley

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

On May 7,1890, a colorful assortment of Western Protestant missionaries, stationed in all corners of late Qing-dynasty China, gathered in Shanghai for a thirteen-day mission conference. Some came to the conference clad in native Chinese dress, complete with Manchu-style ponytails or queues, while others were dressed more formally in the proper Victorian garb preferred by their non-missionary Western counterparts. Regardless of perceived differences in dress or ecclesiastical affiliation in the multi-denominational assembly, all sought to enjoy what was later described by conference organizers as "an occasion of the highest social enjoyment... as well as spiritual profit." As over four hundred …

Explaining The Stigma: Emma Smith's Reputation Among Latter-Day Saints, 1860 To Present, Dallan Petersen

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

In 1874 Brigham Young declared that Emma Smith, the widow of Joseph Smith, would "be damned as sure as she is a living woman. " Few people have ever elicited enough controversy to be publicly condemn by an LDS Church President, but Emma Smith is among them. Today, Emma Smith is a controversial figure among Mormons, but the reason she became so is less well known. Since the 1980s, LOS books and magazines have claimed her reputation is a product of her refusal to follow her husband's church to Utah in 1846. However, there is no evidence that Emma's reputation …

Manchester And The Lit And Phil, Nik Vigil

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

In writing his extensive History, Directory, and Gazetteer of the County Palatine of Lancaster, Edward Baines wrote, "When the increase of wealth and population lead to the establishment of societies for the improvement of the mind and the extension of science, they produce their legitimate influence; of this nature is the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society." The Lit and Phil, as it was most commonly known, was established in 1781 as a society intended for the discussion of topics as diverse as experimental chemistry and the commercial arts. The Lit and Phil was unique in that it was begun …

Moral Exemplars Of Note - Kevin Morris, Sam And Pearl Oliner

Moral Exemplars Study

No abstract provided.

Increasing The Accuracy Of The Military‟S Post-Deployment Mental Health Screening Strategies, Daniel Fass

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The author investigated the prevalence rates of mental health problems reported by college students and compared them with previously existing data on active duty, reserve, and National Guard Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans. Participants completed the mental health portion of the Post-Deployment Health Re-Assessment and an additional questionnaire in which the effect of a drug use screen was explored. Subjects were also asked about their intentions to seek mental health or substance abuse treatment and how anonymity affected their treatment seeking and reporting accuracy. Results indicate similar and at times higher rates of mental health problems in the sample of college …

Carl Maneri, Mathematics And Statistics, Carl Maneri, Kathy Morris

Wright State University Retirees Association Oral History Project

In this May 10, 2024 oral history interview conducted by Kathy Morris, Carl Maneri reflects on his thirty-year career as a founding faculty member in Wright State University’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics. He discusses the university’s early development, faculty governance, departmental leadership, and the challenges of teaching first-generation students at a growing public institution.

Out Of Print: Gay Periodicals And The Psa-Rinting Of A Gay Male World, 1969-1980, Jack Morris

Masters Theses, 2020-current

As the Gay Liberation movement spread across the cities of the United States during the 1970s, one institution bolstered it more than any other: the gay press. This thesis examines the role of the gay press in constructing an imagined community of gay men during the 1970s, uncovering the methods in which it fashioned a gay world that both encompassed and reached beyond the temporal and geographic boundaries of the United States. It argues that writers in gay periodicals built gay community and the Gay Liberation movement in numerous ways, such as reporting on gay history, uncovering foreign gay communities …

Full Issue

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

No abstract provided.

Bahrdt' S Psychological Portrait Of The Dogmatic Priest In Das Religions-Edikt And Herr Pastor Rindvigius, Timothy Wright

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

'What is enlightenment?' This question, posed to German reading audiences in the autumn of 1783 by the journal Berlinische Monatsschrift, ignited a debate that lasted a decade. While the famous answer, given by the philosopher Immanuel Kant, emphasized enlightenment as, above all else, self-emancipation, others stressed the role of external factors-education and institutions-in promoting the individual's ability to think for himself. Through correct upbringing, education, and laws, the individual and society can be brought to enlightenment, so the thinking went. This latter model accented the importance of human development (Bildung) and institutional reform as a means to facilitate this …

On History As Such And Historical Practice, Drew Mecham

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

In his essay "On History Again," Thomas Carlyle asks: "Were there no brave men, thinkest thou, before Agamemnon?" Carlyle probably sought to reference the idea that history is incapable of uncovering the past completely: the documents simply fail to create a full image of the past that we desire. It seems that his answer to his question would be that yes, there were brave men before Agamemnon, but they are lost to us. He reaffirms this point later: "The Life of Nero occupies some diamond pages of our Tacitus; but in the parchment and papyrus archives of Nero's generation how …

Satorial Manipulation Within Historical Politics, Heather Dew

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Fashion's impact on the course of history largely unexplored. Herbert Blumer, a noted sociologist at UC Berkeley, accurately credits this oversight to

"a failure to observe and appreciate the wide range of operation of fashion; a false assumption that fashion has only nivial or peripheral significance; a mistaken idea that fashion falls in the area of the abnormal and irrational and thus is out of the mainsneam of human group life; and, finally, a misunderstanding of the nature of fashion."

Blumer was criticizing sociologists, but he may as well have been criticizing historians; scholarly works analyzing fashion's impact are rare …

From Goths To Romans? Changing Conceptions Of Visigothic Kingship In The Reigns Of Leovigild And Reccared, Lance Hungar

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

The historiography of Visigothic Spain has always been relevant, from the days of what is known as the Reconquista, to Franco-era propaganda efforts, and even to the modern day. Scholars have debated the varying qualities of Roman-ness or Gothic-ness that appear in the Visigothic kingdom, the importance of the Visigothic conversion to Nicene Christianity at the Third Council of Toledo in 589, and other details. Leaving those debates to others, this paper focuses on the question why did the Arian Visigothic kingdom abandon the Arian religion that had defined the Visigoths for generations? In examining this question through archaeological …

The Lincolns In Linville: A Public History Approach To The Lincoln Homestead, Sydney Ring

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This thesis project aims to examine and update the interpretive content and themes present on the website for the Lincoln Homestead, a private home located in Linville, Virginia. There are two main components to this thesis, including a written paper and a website functioning as a digital exhibit. The paper analyzes the interpretive content available on the Lincoln Homestead website and identifies its strengths and weaknesses. It discusses the importance of the Lincoln family and home within the wider history of the Shenandoah Valley. Furthermore, the Interpretive Plan recommends themes such as enslavement, colonization, and gender which can be implemented …

The Dry Bloodletting: A History Of The Diagnosis And Treatment Of Posttraumatic Stress Disorders In Military Service Members, Kevin Johnson

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This work is a close look at how veterans of war have been treated medically for ailents of the mind. This work looks closely at the many therapies and pharmaceutical remedies that have been perscribed to veterans with the advent of the field of psycology at the trun of the century. Sources included the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), multiple clinical trials and white papers, records from the VA, etc. The reader should walk away with a better understanding of how the path towards healing invisble wounds has been mired with revictimization and controversy.

From Montpelier To Fort Hill: James Mason And The Defense Of Slavery In Virginia, 1848-1861, Zachary D. Thompson

Masters Theses, 2020-current

In the mid-nineteenth century, the topic of slavery dominated American politics. Virginia, the state that fostered the ideals of the Revolution, traditionally followed the defense of slavery posited by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, known as the necessary evil defense. James Mason, a grandson of revolutionary figure George Mason, arrived in Washington, D.C. in 1848 and assumed his seat in the Senate, filling the seat after the death of Isaac Pennybacker. A former state delegate and member of the House of Representatives, James Mason carried with him to the Senate influences and relationships that spurred the Virginian to drift away …

Red Boots And Lunch Bucket: Remembrances Of A Rural School, John Wolter Nielsen

The Bridge

No abstract provided.

The Biltmore Forest School And The Establishment Of Forestry Education In America, Dan Barry Croom

Journal of Research in Technical Careers

The Biltmore Forest School, despite its unusual existence within the affluent Biltmore Estate, played a crucial role in the early 20th-century American forestry movement. Founded by Carl A. Schenck and supported by George Vanderbilt II, the school aimed to educate foresters and promote sustainable forest management. However, many aspects of the Biltmore experiment failed due to the new and untested nature of forestry science in America. This experiment exposed a fundamental divide in forestry education, with Gifford Pinchot advocating for conservation-centered teaching while Schenck believed in the economic viability of lumber production. Ultimately, the Biltmore Forest School offered valuable vocational …

Ada News - 05/06/2024, American Dental Association, Publishing Division

ADA News

Established in 1970 as the official newspaper of the American Dental Association, the ADA News serves practicing dentists and others allied to the dental profession in the U.S. and internationally. It is the No. 1 source of news and information about the many benefits and services the ADA delivers to members daily as well as timely information on scientific, social, political and economic developments affecting dentistry and health care.

Faithful Coverage: The Irish Independent’S Catholic Transformation Of The Spanish Civil War, Willa M. Fahrbach

Young Historians Conference

In the summer of 1936, the Spanish Civil War erupted with a military coup d’etat against the current Republic, launching three years of chaos and casualty. Among the ranks of supporters for the imminent fascist regime were Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, and shockingly, the majority of Ireland’s citizens. However, their support was not unprompted. The Irish Independent, a popular newspaper, flooded its pages with gory depictions of anti-clerical violence committed by the Spanish Republicans and steered their audience into the kind of righteous sensationalism that would later inspire an Irish Brigade to form on behalf of the fascist regime. …

Immigrant Identity Formation, A Transnational Approach: Italian Americans In New York City, 1880-1930, Amelia J. Vena

Young Historians Conference

Of the Italian immigrants arriving in America during the Great Migration (1880-1924), few understood themselves as “Italians.” On paper, Italian unification took place in 1861, but the creation of Italy as a unit of politics was not the creation of Italians as a unit of nation. Even decades later, immigrants landing in New York City understood themselves in regional terms—as Calabrians, Sicilians, and Neapolitans. “Italian national identity” remained an idea confined to the imaginations of wealthy and educated Italian nationalists. In the years that followed the Great Migration, immigrants reshaped Italian-American identity as they grappled with American ideas of race …

Jewish Immigrants In Argentina: The Bund As A Transnational Connection, Naomi Hemstreet

Young Historians Conference

Between 1881 and 1948, thousands of Eastern European Jews immigrated to Argentina, escaping subjugation and seeking economic opportunities. These Jewish immigrants initially worked in the agricultural colonies of the Pampas before settling primarily in Buenos Aires, drawn to the benefits of living in a densely populated city. Jewish socialism abounded, connected with the Bund in Russia and Poland while still existing independently. This paper examines the organization Avangard, the first representation of Bundism in Argentina, and its economic and cultural aims, before exploring Bundist schools in Argentina. I also analyze the secular Jewish schooling movement in Poland in order to …

Ceremonial Sexual Sacrifice To Commercial Prostitution: The History Of Prostitution And The Social, Economic, And Religious Progress That Revolved Around The Profession, Katelyn E. Crowell

Young Historians Conference

From its believed origin in Ancient Mesopotamia, prostitution has not only survived but is a profession that has continued to play a culturally defining role through the centuries. While its initial emergence was through an act of religious ritual and sacrifice, it transformed into a commercial profession. Prostitution, despite it becoming a representation of sexual deviance, not only persevered but thrived across vast regions, cultures, and time periods. The profession's social ‘taboo’ and the forbiddenness of being associated with the institution has carried forward through time and across varying societal constructs, the attempts to hide or extinguish prostitution has never …

The Cambridge Five Spy Ring: The Notorious Bane Of The British Government, Jenna G. Mccomas

Young Historians Conference

Beginning with the communist recruitment of Kim Philby in 1934, this paper traces the decades-long espionage journey of the notorious Cambridge Five spy ring. Exploring the reach they had from the halls of the British government to Washington D.C, this paper highlights the building blocks of the Five’s legacy and their implications. This paper details the levels of and effects of British governmental incompetence in cementing the Five as international spy celebrities and enabling their Soviet espionage endeavors. Overall, it seeks to explore how the British were the agents of their own humiliation regarding espionage, and unnecessarily increased tension with …

A Matter Of Ultra Importance: How Ultra’S Decryption Of Enigma Impacted The Outcome Of World War Ii, Lia S. Hansen

Young Historians Conference

During World War II, one of the most prominent unsung heroes were the Allied codebreakers of Ultra who, under the thick blanket of absolute secrecy, worked tirelessly throughout the war to decrypt the German Enigma cipher. Efforts to break the Enigma cipher were underway since the beginning of the war but yielded little success until 1943 and Alan Turing’s Bombe. After this point, Allied forces were able to more effectively combat Axis forces, especially German U-boats in the Atlantic ocean, while keeping the whole operation under wraps to avoid suspicion and changing of the code. This paper explores how Ultra’s …

34th Annual Young Historians Conference Program, Portland State University History Department, Portland State University Challenge Program

Young Historians Conference

This is the 2024 Young Historians Conference schedule and abstracts.

Wordflight, Joey Gonnella

Theses and Dissertations

Exploring subjects revolving around the nature of images, language and their subsequent disseminationn through time, this paper weaves together seemingly unrelated topics from the hot air balloons of the Franco-Prussian war to the envelope poems of Emily Dickinson.