Digital Commons Network^™

Charge The Cockpit Or Die: An Anatomy Of Fear-Driven Political Rhetoric In American Conservatism, Daniel Hostetter

Senior Honors Theses

Subthreshold negative emotions have superseded conscious reason as the initial and strongest motivators of political behavior. Political neuroscience uses the concepts of negativity bias and terror management theory to explore why fear-driven rhetoric plays such an outsized role in determining human political actions. These mechanisms of human anthropology are explored by competing explanations from biblical and evolutionary scholars who attempt to understand their contribution to human vulnerabilities to fear. When these mechanisms are observed in fear-driven political rhetoric, three common characteristics emerge: exaggerated threat, tribal combat, and religious apocalypse, which provide a new framework for explaining how modern populist leaders …

Geopolitical Actions Of The German Empire Prior To The First World War – A Modified Dime Analysis –, Gregory A. Mauck

Masters Theses

It is said that the victors write the history. That adage is demonstrably true for the history of the First World War. The German Empire, Das Deutsche Kaiserreich, has shouldered most of the blame for the war for most of the past century. Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles declares this German guilt in no uncertain terms. But is this a fair assessment? A study of pre-war German diplomatic and military actions provides a method to partially assess the culpability of Germany for the Great War. A fair analysis of that geopolitical activity shows that the actions of the …

The Shaffer Thesis Arthur Harvey Shaffer: American Founding History And History Education, C. C. Mathis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Historian Arthur Harvey Shaffer (1936-2002) argued that the post-Revolution historians created a New England-centric nationalist history perspective of the American founding. He further argued they established a model of nationalist American history education to instill a virtuous national character and ensure the stability of the new republic. Though current trends show an increasing number of scholars reassessing New England primacy in American colonial and revolutionary era histories, Shaffer’s historical perspective and pedagogy appears overlooked. Shaffer’s historical perspective and pedagogy can be integrated into a unique historical lens for insight into the link between American history scholarship, history education, and national …

"More Nobility Of Soul": Honor At The United States Naval Academy, 1845-1875, Samuel J. Limneos

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

An import from the old European world, the new United States and its incipient national navy inherited a fierce honor culture that valued aggressiveness, impetuousness, defiance, boldness, and courage. In 1845, the Navy brought the education of midshipmen, the service’s youngest corps of junior officers to Annapolis, where it established the United States Naval School. There, the institution’s strict discipline, organization and order inculcated the midshipmen in the expectations of an officer and gentleman and subjected them to unprecedented restraint as a matter of duty. The midshipmen reacted to this restraint and all impugnation to their vulnerable sense of honor …

Reed Smoot And The League Of Nations: Duty To Church And Party, Brandon Hellewell

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Senator Reed Smoot (R-UT) lived his life with two great devotions, the Republican Party and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1919, he held high positions in both. At that time, and in his seventeenth year as a senator, Smoot served as a member of the Senate Finance Committee. He also served as an Apostle of the LDS Church. These two parts of Smoot's life created tensions at several junctures, including 1919 when the Republican Party and LDS Church took opposing sides in the battle over United States membership in the League of Nations. The Church supported …

A Canadian Civil Affairs Officer In Italy: Lieutenant-Colonel H. S. Robinson, Provincial Commissioner For Brescia In 1945, Janet Sanders, Rolando Anni, Maria Paola Pasini

Canadian Military History

This article provides an overview of one Canadian Civil Affairs Officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Homer Smiley Robinson, and his contribution to the rebuilding of the province of Brescia in north Italy and its eponymous capital after liberation from Nazi occupation. Robinson, as Provincial Commissioner, led the Civil Affairs team from April to October 1945 as the first Canadian to be appointed to the position. Traditionally, Civil Affairs has been studied predominantly as a bureaucratic structure. The human element in terms of staff and stakeholders has been almost entirely neglected. It is hoped that this account of a soldier-turned-governor will prove to be …

Did Fellows, Aliyat Adeboye '24, Rachel Medeiros '25, Bryn Morgan '24, Alexandra Delano '25, Amari Mims '25, Johandalys Montas '25, Sofia Lamas '24, Ella Mcintire '24

Global Studies Student Scholarship

DID Fellows (27)

Alexandra Delano ’25, Biology major
Amari Mims ’25, Biology major
Daniel Singh ’26, Psychology major
Connor Flynn ’25, Political Science major
Aliyat Adeboye ’24, Health Policy and Management major
Johandalys Montas ’25, Economics and Global Studies major
Sofia Lamas ’24, Health Policy and Management major
Ella McIntire ’24, History major
Rachel Medeiros ’25, Marketing and Sociology major
Bryn Morgan  ’24, Marketing major
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Nicholas Longo, Global Studies

Art As A Form Of Therapy: Afghan Women And Their “War Rugs” Highlight The Trauma And Violence Of The Soviet-Afghan War, Abigail Turano '24

History & Classics Student Scholarship

Abigail Turano ’24, History major
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Margaret Manchester, History and Classics

Choiceless Choices: The Sonderkommando Of Auschwitz As Victims, Taylor Rice

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

To undertake the Extermination of Europe's Jews, the Nazis needed more manpower than the ranks of the SS could provide. The Germans relied on the constant supply ofJewish prisoners to meet their need for a large labor force in the concentration camps themselves. At its highest rate of extermination, more than one hundred inmates were assigned to work in each crematorium at Auschwitz-Birkenau. The Sonderkommando (special detachment) at Auschwitz was composed of prisoners selected by the Nazis to participate in extermination work. As a result, members of this special detachment had an incredibly intimate view of the inner workings of …

"The Most Hopeful Time": A Contextualization And Evaluation Of Northern Irish Student Activism On The Cusp Of The Troubles, Sadie M. Deshon

Senior Honors Theses

Many Americans are familiar with the history of student riots in the U.S. in the late 1960s—from marches against the Vietnam War, to those advocating civil rights for African Americans. Far fewer Americans, however, realize that nearly the entire western world was concurrently embroiled in similar student-led movements, most of which converged in 1968. Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom that seems to defy definition as a political entity (particularly among its own people, who may describe it as a country, region, or province, depending on their respective political ideologies), was not immune to this trend. The Catholic …

Friction And Fog: The Chaotic Nature Of Defeat For The B.E.F. In The Fall Of France, Carson Teuscher

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Bursting from the thick Ardennes Forest on the morning of May 10, 1940, Hitler's Panzer armies pounded across the French countryside. Not only did his armies strike through what Marshal Petain had deemed the "Impenetrable Ardennes," in doing so German forces bypassed the Maginot Line, France's most formidable defenses. As they poured through the gap, other German armies simultaneously attacked Belgium, sweeping downward through the Low Countries to merge with the primary thrust towards Paris.

Blacks Depicted As A Symbol Of European Power Through The Ages, Lydia Breksa

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Only twenty-seven years ago, Japanese marketeing experts explained that viewers of their advertisements "respond favorably to blacks because they seem more full of energy than whites," and "appear to have a wild side chat seems beyond normal human strength."' In 1988 Japan, this Western-inspired image was not uncommon.2 Such depictions of blacks did not come from thin air. Blacks have been portrayed in European art in various ways throughout history; however, there are recurring themes that persist even today. Such portrayals not only represent society's perceptions but also strengthen them. As such, a study of how European art depicted blacks …

Beyond The Headlines: Media And Information Literacy (Mil) In Times Of Conflict, Anna Kozlowska-Barrios, Lusine Grigoryan, Michael Hoechsmann, Andzongo Menyeng Blaise Pascal

Journal of Media Literacy Education

The wars of the 21st century are not the first media wars, and many tropes and schema have long histories, particularly propaganda and the othering of a purported enemy. What is new today is that although mass media remains a central and hegemonic source of insight and perspective, citizen journalism, social media, spreadable media, and surveillant, data-driven media have grown in significance at an exponential level, adding a layer of complexity. In this article, we focus on disparity in media coverage and make the point that media and information literacy provide a valuable set of lenses from which to view …

The Reproductive Politics Of Maiolica: Birth, Abortion, And Gendered Authority During The Italian Renaissance, Rose Brookhart

Honors Projects

In the aftermath of several plagues that decimated the population of the Italian peninsula since 1348, men and women from all socioeconomic backgrounds safeguarded their individual corporeal health and collective societal well-being through a variety of routines and rituals, which were prescribed but at the same time extremely personalized. This increased attention in personal and civic health promoted new trends in both literal and material consumption during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Purgative drugs and medicines were a common facet of medicine during the Italian Renaissance and were ingested regularly to alleviate commonplace bodily discomforts in addition to more serious …

A Cryptid For Catholics And Communists: The Asuang As An Apparatus For Socio-Political Control In The History Of The Philippines, Alexandra Eckhart

Honors Projects

This essay explores the utilization of folklore beliefs in psychological warfare through a comparative analysis of General Edward Geary Lansdale's tactics during the Hukbalahap insurgency at the beginning of the Cold War and the historical exploitation of the asuang myth by Spanish Catholic missionaries in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. While both instances involved leveraging local superstitions to influence behavior, their motivations and approaches diverged significantly. Unlike the missionaries, Lansdale's actions stemmed from a strategic imperative to combat communism rather than a sense of racial superiority or religious domination. Drawing parallels between Lansdale's methods and centuries-old patterns of oppression, this …

Considering The “Special Considerations”: The Treatment Of Female Inmates In The People’S Republic Of China Since 1994, Niklas Berry

Madison Historical Review

The purpose of this paper is to historicize contemporary gendered legal practices in the People’s Republic of China and to demonstrate that, despite rhetoric to the contrary, paternalistic assumptions rooted in Confucianism still inform the treatment of female prisoners today. Though China underwent massive political and economic shifts after the formation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 and the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, certain longstanding societal principles were preserved in modern China, including long-held paternalistic stereotypes about the physical and mental fragility of women. These precepts undergirded the PRC’s reforms of its judicial and criminal systems …

A Most Despicable Hoax: Women, Crime, And Newspapers In Depression-Era St. Louis, Nancy Stiles

Theses

This paper delves into the captivating saga of Nellie Muench, a St. Louis housewife whose life intersected with the burgeoning celebrity culture, evolving media landscape, and shifting gender dynamics of the early 20th century. Muench's involvement as a co-conspirator in the 1931 kidnapping for ransom of a wealthy doctor propelled her into the spotlight, where she navigated media manipulation to attempt to craft her own narrative. Secretly obtaining a baby and passing it off as her own child to gain jury sympathy and blackmail a rich paramour took interest in her case to sensational tabloid (and legal) heights. Drawing from …

"There Is Power In Being Out": A Three Article Approach Celebrating The Experiences Of Queer University Leaders, Andrew R. E. Lorenzana

Dissertations

Institutions of higher education were historically built to serve a wealthy, White, straight male student population and the leaders of these institutions still largely reflect these demographics. This project specifically aims to celebrate and amplify the life and career of university administrators who identify within the LGBTQ community. Mainly through the use of a portraiture methodology, this three-article study attempts to examine the ways in which LGBTQ identity and career influence one another.

Worldmaking and narrative will be used as a theoretical frame to help analyze the ways in which the telling of a queer individual’s story makes the world …

Gaijin Shogun: The Effectiveness Of Macarthur In The Early Stages Of The Military Occupation Of Japan, Jack Cashion

Senior Honors Theses

In the aftermath of World War II, the Allied powers occupied Germany and Japan to ensure a peaceful transition at the end of the war. While the Allies had conquered Germany in its entirety, Japan’s surrender in the wake of the atomic bombs forestalled a costly invasion of the Japanese mainland. President Harry Truman granted General Douglas MacArthur the title of Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) when he appointed the general as the leader of America’s occupation force in Japan. As SCAP, MacArthur oversaw the initial years of the reconstruction of Japan and its transition from a war-torn …

Our Enemy, The State: Liberty Versus Power On The American Home Front During The First World War, Michael Schearer

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

World War I marked a significant shift in the structure and practice of the federal government. The key feature of this shift was the centralization of national power in the federal government and a burgeoning bureaucracy. This increase in the centralization of power led to an escalation of conflicts between the expanded assertions of national power and the civil liberties of American citizens. While this relationship between state power and civil liberties has been the focus of extensive scholarly research, much less has been written about a mostly forgotten perspective that viewed war as destructive to human flourishing beyond the …

The Official Pow’S Rights Beginning In The Civil War Forward: Co-Authored By Francis Lieber, Delynn Antoinette Burrell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Historians have written many volumes on the Civil War, but few have examined the plight of prisoners of war. Although a few prominent historians wrote on the subject in the mid-nineteenth century, the topic quickly faded into obscurity until the mid to late twentieth century. Most historical works regarding prisoners of war focus more on individual prison camps rather than the system as a whole. This research seeks to fill the gap in the historiography of prisoners of war by examining the development of an official policy on their care and treatment. Through the examination of the War of the …

We Clear The Way: United States Army Combat Engineers In The Second World War's Southwest Pacific Theater, 1942-1945, Marc C. Jeter

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The immense scope and scale of World War II required its combatants to conduct operations in every conceivable climatic condition and topographical setting. This fact has continued to represent a double-edged sword for the historiography of this conflict. The researcher may pursue any number of elements of this war to pursue and have done so. That said, aspects remain not yet mined from the cavernous topographical lode eight decades after this war. One such angle of this war not yet fully researched and analyzed by historians is that of General Douglas MacArthur and the US Army’s operational record and experiences …

Bureaus Of Ungentlemanly Warfare: Comparing The Roles Of Women In The Special Operations Executive And The Office Of Strategic Services During World War Ii, Adaline Nolley

Senior Honors Theses

In 1940, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill created the Special Operations Executive. The SOE was one of the first government agencies to recruit female spies. In 1941, United States President Franklin Roosevelt commissioned the Office of Strategic Services, which also employed women. The organizations approached the concept of female agents differently. The OSS maintained female staff in domestic offices, but employed foreign women as agents. The SOE recruited women to go abroad, as they were less suspicious than men in occupied territories. The study of female staff in the OSS and the SOE allow historians to understand roles of women …

Hgs-3 The Influence Of A Tandem Cycling Program In The Community On Physical And Functional Health, Therapeutic Bonds, And Quality Of Life For Individuals And Care Partners Coping With Parkinson’S Disease, Leila Djerdjour, Jennifer L. Trilk

SC Upstate Research Symposium

Purpose Statement: Several studies have shown that aerobic exercise can have a positive impact on alleviating symptoms experienced by individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD). Despite this evidence, the potential benefits of exercise for both PD patients and their care partners (PD dyad) remain unexplored. This research project investigates the effectiveness, therapeutic collaborations, and physical outcomes of a virtual reality (VR) tandem cycling program specifically designed for PD dyads.

Methods: Following approval from the Prisma Health Institutional Review Board, individuals with PD were identified and screened by clinical neurologists. The pre-testing measures for PD dyads (N=9) included emotional and cognitive status …

2024 Undergraduate Research Symposium Program, Coastal Carolina University

Undergraduate Research Symposium Programs

15th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, April 10-11, 2024.

Seminoles, Soldiers, And Settlers: Identity And Power On The Florida Frontier, Jean Louise Lammie

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This project uses an historical archaeological approach to analyze the processes of cultural negotiation between disparate social groups living in a remote borderland in the early to mid-nineteenth centuries. Florida, first colonized by the Spanish in the 1500s was passed to the United States in 1821 as part of the young nation’s nascent Manifest Destiny. The Seminoles experienced multiple colonial conflicts, dealt with new diseases, and selected aspects of European culture to incorporate into their daily practices of lifeways.

Archaeological studies of culture change tend to focus on the product of colonial interactions rather than the processes of change that …

Nursing The Wright Way: A History Of Nursing At Wright State University, 1973-2023, Donna Miles Curry

Books Authored by Wright State Faculty/Staff

This book explores the history of an innovative nursing education program in Dayton, Ohio from its creation in the 1970s until 2023. On the cutting edge with a theory driven curriculum this program went from BSN, adding the master's degree with advanced practice options and also a DNP.

The Wolfenden Report: The Key To The English Gay Rights Movement, Ryan Hollister

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

The history of homosexuality in Great Britain is long and complicated, extending all the way back to the Roman conquest. Romans had a tradition of homosexuality, but when Rome fell, churches became the authority on homosexuality, leading to numerous movements to fight against it. King Henry the 8th of England outlawed buggery, a term for anal intercourse, in 1533, and there are suspicions chat King James had homosexual relationships, but the scope of English history cannot be fully summarized in a paper of this length. Instead, this paper will focus on the British decriminalization of homosexual practices in the 1950s …

The Evolution Of Palestinian Narrative: ‘Mo' As An Illustration, Ihsan Abualrob, Ayman Talal Yousef

An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities)

The article aims to explore the present-day challenges facing the Palestinian narrative. It delves into the ways in which the narrative has been shaped by historical events namely the Nakba, the Naksa, and the Oslo Accords, and how these events have left a lasting impact on the Palestinian identity. The article then examines the potential for the development of a new form of cultural resistance utilizing personal stories; as demonstrated by the Netflix show ‘Mo’. The show proffers a novel approach incorporating Palestinain political messages onto comedy and drama, and therefore has the potential to reach a wider audience. In …

Radically Feminist Or Monstrously Feminine?: Witches And Goddesses In Guadagnino's Suspiria (2018), Lindsay Macumber

Journal of Religion & Film

Guadagnino’s 2018 remake of Suspiria explicitly and implicitly incorporates two connected myths, witchcraft and goddess centered matriarchal prehistory. The fact that each of these myths have been claimed by feminists in myriad ways may explain Guadagnino’s claim that Suspiria is a great feminist film that escapes the male gaze. In this article, I argue that Guadagnino’s representation of these myths lays bare their misogynistic origins and perpetuates, rather than subverts, patriarchal power structures.