Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Courting American Capital: Public Relations And The Business Of Selling Ivorian Capitalism In The U.S., 1960-1980, Abou B. Bamba

History Faculty Publications

This chapter is an invitation to reimagine the roles assigned to players in the history of capitalism on the global stage. It challenges aspects of the historiography of capitalism in the twentieth century, which tend to center on historical actors and institutions of the Global North. Even when actors in the Global South are discussed, it is usually to portray them as passive victims of an intractable system. By focusing on the Ivory Coast and its economic diplomacy toward the United States, I seek to destabilize this general picture.

The Warrior As Priest: Edmund Herring And The "Call To The People Of Australia", Michael J. Birkner

History Faculty Publications

Prominent for his role in World War II in New Guinea, Sir Edmund Herring grew discouraged about his countrymen’s failure to sustain wartime spirit in a post-war era. In his view ‘faith and courage’ had been replaced by a national ethos of ‘gimme and get’. Charged by Prime Minister Robert Menzies with leading a national awakening, particularly as related to the threat of international communism, in 1951 Herring spearheaded a fervent ‘Call to the People of Australia’, which earned massive publicity, short-term engagement by up to a third of the population, but little long-term impact. To Herring’s frustration, a largely …

The Great War And The Digital Humanities: Creating A Project And Building A Team, Ian A. Isherwood, Amy E. Lucadamo, R.C. Miessler

History Faculty Publications

Using the framework of The First World War Letters of H.J.C. Peirs: A Digital History, this workshop will give guidance for team-building and project management, provide examples of Digital Humanities tools and methods that can be used with First World War collections, and outline pedagogical uses for digital history in the classroom.

The First World War Letters Of H.J.C. Peirs: A Digital History, Ian A. Isherwood, Amy E. Lucadamo, R.C. Miessler

History Faculty Publications

This poster provides a high-level overview of The First World War Letters of H.J.C. Peirs: A Digital History project, giving information on its creation, the collection of letters, how it has used digital mapping, and its use in the classroom.

The Trophies Of Victory And The Relics Of Defeat: Returning Home In The Spring Of 1865, Peter S. Carmichael

History Faculty Publications

The remains of a lone apple tree, cut down and carved into small pieces by Confederate soldiers, lay along a rutted dirt road that led to the village of Appomattox Court House. Earlier on 9 April 1865, Robert E. Lee had waited under the shade of the apple tree, anxious to hear from Ulysses S.Grant about surrendering his army. Messages between the generals eventually led to a brief meeting between Lee and two Union staff offices who then secured the parlor in Wilmer McLean's house, where Grant dictated the surrender terms to Lee. As soon as the agreement was signed …

‘Mightier Than Marx’: Hassoldt Davis And American Cold War Politics In Postwar Ivory Coast, Abou B. Bamba

History Faculty Publications

Using the travels of Hassoldt Davis in Ivory Coast to explore the global Cold War in French West Africa in the 1950s, this article argues that the main line of confrontation in the postwar era did not always pit Americans against Russians. In many instances, the struggle for the mind and soul of Africans was between the Americans and the French. The study highlights the role of everyday technology in the expansion of the American informal empire. By focusing on Davis and the significance of low-tech artifacts, the article suggests that in our scrutiny of Cold War science/technology, we need …

The Battle Fdr Lost:The Failed Nomination Of Boss Ed Flynn As Minister To Australia, Michael J. Birkner

History Faculty Publications

Shortly after Christmas in 1942, the U.S. minister to Australia, Nelson Trusler Johnson, decided the time was right for a break from his wartime duties. Johnson and his wife, Jane, agreed that a seaside vacation with their young children was in order. The Johnson family duly motored to Narooma, about 150 miles southeast of Canberra, for what they expected to be a three-week holiday during the peak of the Australian summer. They chose the spot for its beauty—and because the children would be able to swim without worrying about sharks.The Johnsons’ holiday was cut short on January 8, when wire …

A Whole Lot Of Blame To Go Around: The Confederate Collapse At Five Forks, Peter S. Carmichael

History Faculty Publications

While Confederate major general George E. Pickett was finishing his plate of fried fish at a shad bake, Union major general Philip H. Sheridan was devouring Pickett's command at Five Forks. The sounds of the Federal assault were supposedly silenced by abnormal atmospheric conditions called an acoustic shadow. Pickett and his luncheon companions -- Maj. Gen. Thomas Rosser and Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee -- heard nothing over the sounds of conviviality, but the sudden appearance of the courier alerted the dining party to an alarming reality. This solider claimed that he was nearly shot out of his saddle by Federal …

Monuments Ought To Be Considered Case By Case, Michael J. Birkner

History Faculty Publications

In a press conference last week President Donald Trump made this contribution to the escalating debate about monuments and memorials to American heroes who, by today’s reckoning, failed a moral test.

The statue debate is inherently emotional and when it comes to keeping certain statues up or pulling them down, it riles people up —including Donald Trump. However, it is important to separate President Trump’s intemperate and often factually inaccurate remarks at Tuesday’s press conference from the statue controversy as it is currently playing out. (excerpt)

Un Nouveau Miracle Économique Ivoirien?, Vincent Hiribarren, Abou B. Bamba

History Faculty Publications

Questions à Abou Bamba, associate professor d’Histoire et d’Etudes Africaines à Gettysburg College (Etats-Unis). Il est l’auteur de African Miracle, African Mirage: Transnational Politics and the Paradox of Modernization in Ivory Coast (Ohio University Press, 2016).

Ike's Leadership Lessons For New President, Michael J. Birkner

History Faculty Publications

Just days into his presidency in the winter of 1953, Dwight Eisenhower met with his advisers and discussed a challenge from within the majority Republican caucus. If mishandled, it could have endangered his program for a stronger America.

The issue, as he later related, was the demand of conservative Republican legislative leaders that Eisenhower "balance the budget immediately and cut taxes no matter what the result." [excerpt]

From Hackensack To The White House: The Triumph And Travail Of E. Frederic Morrow, Michael J. Birkner

History Faculty Publications

Four decades after arranging a historic meeting in the White House of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and African-American leaders on June 23, 1958 former Eisenhower assistant Rocco Siciliano recounted the back-story of the meeting, highlighting its inherent drama and significance. In the course of sharing his recollections Siciliano paid tribute to an African-American member of the White House staff, E. Frederic Morrow, calling him a “true pioneer in the American black civil rights movement.” Added Siciliano: “[Morrow’s] impact on civil rights progress has yet to be appreciated.” Judging “impact” by one individual on a large-scale movement is tricky business. But, …

Commentary: Echoes Of '64 Campaign In Toomey-Mcginty Race, Michael J. Birkner

History Faculty Publications

With Donald Trump's campaign for president aimed more at solidifying his base rather than reaching out to independents and undecided voters, Republican activists have shifted their focus to holding their Senate majority, which recent polls suggest lie on a knife's edge. The Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race ranks among the major prizes Democrats hope to capture enroute to the magic number 51. [excerpt]

What About That Pursuit Of Happiness?, Timothy J. Shannon

History Faculty Publications

On the Fourth of July, many Americans will take the opportunity to read the Declaration of Independence. It is a long document, but the passage that is most likely to stir feelings of patriotism comes early, at the start of the second paragraph:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." [excerpt]

Governing New Jersey: Reflections On The Publication Of A Revised And Expanded Edition Of 'The Governors Of New Jersey', Michael J. Birkner

History Faculty Publications

New Jersey’s chief executive enjoys more authority than any but a handful of governors in the United States. Historically speaking, however, New Jersey’s governors exercised less influence than met the eye. In the colonial period few proprietary or royal governors were able to make policy in the face of combative assemblies. The Revolutionary generation’s hostility to executive power contributed to a weak governor system that carried over into the 19th and 20th centuries, until the Constitution was thoroughly revised in 1947. Before that date a handful of governors, by dint of their ideas and personalities, affected the polity in meaningful …

Paving The Way To Scandal: History Repeats Itself, Michael J. Birkner

History Faculty Publications

Presidential candidate Marco Rubio of Florida enjoyed an assist this week managing the fallout from New York Times stories about his personal finances by an unlikely ally: Comedy Central host Jon Stewart, who dismissed the information as an example of “gotcha” politics, unworthy of current discussion. “How is this front page news?” Stewart said, calling the Times reports “inconsequential gossip.” [excerpt]

Burnishing Buchanan's Brand On His Birthday, Michael J. Birkner

History Faculty Publications

James Buchanan’s brand needs refreshing.

Outside his hometown, his name does not much register with Americans today. When it does, the reaction is usually negative. What a comedown from the high hopes associated with Old Buck’s election to the presidency in 1856. [excerpt]

Lancastrians Marched With Dr. King In Selma, Michael J. Birkner

History Faculty Publications

Fifty years after he addressed a crowd in Lancaster’s Penn Square about “the idea that all men are one,” Wayne Glick remembers that moment as if it happened yesterday. Glick’s speech, inviting Lancastrians to participate in the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, on behalf of African-American voting rights, is a footnote to Lancaster County history. But the march itself, featured in the popular film “Selma,” helped to change America. [excerpt]

Heroes Of Berlin Wall Struggle, William D. Bowman

History Faculty Publications

When the Berlin Wall fell 25 years ago, on Nov. 9, 1989, symbolically signaling the end of the Cold War, it was no surprise that many credited President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev for bringing it down.

But the true heroes behind the fall of the Berlin Wall are those Eastern Europeans whose protests and political pressure started chipping away at the wall years before. East German citizens from a variety of political backgrounds and occupations risked their freedom in protests against communist policies and one-party rule in what they called the "peaceful revolution." [excerpt]

French And Indian Cruelty? The Fate Of The Oswego Prisoners Of War, 1756-1758, Timothy J. Shannon

History Faculty Publications

This article examines what happened to approximately 1,200 prisoners of war taken by the French and their Indian allies at the British post Fort Oswego in August 1756. Their experiences illuminated the contrast between traditional methods of warfare in colonial America and the new rules of war being introduced by European armies fighting in the French and Indian War. Although European armies claimed to treat POWs more humanely than Native Americans, their supposedly civilized rules of warfare actually increased the suffering of the Oswego prisoners.

Passion And Conflict: Medieval Islamic Views Of The West, Karen C. Pinto

History Faculty Publications

This article analyzes the representation of al-Andalus and North Africa in medieval Islamic maps from the eleventh to the fifteenth centuries. In contrast to other maps of the Mediterranean, which display a veneer of harmony and balance, the image of the Maghrib is by deliberate design one of conflict and confusion; of love and hate; of male vs. female; of desire vs rejection. This paper interprets and explains the reasons behind the unusual depiction of Andalus and the Maghrib by medieval Islamic cartographers. In addition, this article develops a new methodology of interpreting medieval Islamic maps employing a deconstruction of …

An Unconventional Challenge To Apartheid: The Ivorian Dialogue Diplomacy With South Africa, 1960-1978, Abou B. Bamba

History Faculty Publications

This article focuses on the dialogue diplomacy that Ivorian President Félix Houphouët-Boigny initiated in the late 1960s to engage apartheid South Africa. Although contemporary observers and subsequent scholars (have) derided the scheme as an act of acquiescence and even betrayal, I argue that Ivory Coast's dialogue diplomacy was neither accommodationist nor dependent on the prodding of neocolonial powers such as France. A Pan-Africanist extension of the home-grown neotraditional practice of Dialogue ivoirienne, the diplomatic initiative never got the backing of other African states. A close analysis of the Ivory Coast's maneuvers in the context of an increasing radicalization of …

Lord Of My Soul: The Letters Of Catalina Micaela, Duchess Of Savoy, To Her Husbanb, Carlo Emanuele I, Magdalena S. Sanchez

History Faculty Publications

This essay, part of a book-length project on the Infanta Catalina Micaela, Duchess of Savoy, examines Catalina’s relationship with her husband and her reaction to assuming political control in the fall of 1588 during Carlo's first major absence from Turin after their marriage.

Why Joanna Baptista Sold Herself Into Slavery: Indian Women In Portuguese Amazonia, 1755-1798, Barbara A. Sommer

History Faculty Publications

In 1780, in Belem, Brazil, Joanna Baptista sold herself into slavery. This article probes Joanna’s motives and situates her actions not only in the milieu of slaveholding Brazil, but also in the more specific context of Portuguese Amazonia during the Directorate (1758–1798). Indians, especially former slaves and their descendants, faced forced resettlement and increased labor demands. Joanna’s case and contemporary petitions demonstrate how women of Indian and mixed descent, especially single women, widows and orphans, used legal means to defend their autonomy.

Searchin’ His Eyes, Lookin’ For Traces: Piri Reis’ World Map Of 1513 & Its Islamic Iconographic Connections (A Reading Through Bagdat 334 And Proust), Karen C. Pinto

History Faculty Publications

The remnant of the 1513 world map of the Ottoman corsair (and later admiral) Muhiddin Piri, a.k.a. Piri Reis, with its focus on the Atlantic and the New World can be ranked as one of the most famous and controversial maps in the annals of the history of cartography. Following its discovery at Topkapi Palace in 1929, this early modern Ottoman map has raised baffling questions regarding its fons et origo. Some scholars posited ancient sea kings or aliens from outer space as the original creators; while the influence of Columbus’ own map and early Renaissance cartographers tantalized others. One …

Hakoah Vienna And The International Nature Of Interwar Austrian Sports, William Bowman

History Faculty Publications

Hakoah Vienna was the most important Jewish sports organization in interwar Austria. Indeed, Hakoah, which means strength or power in Hebrew, was one of the most significant sports clubs on the continent of Europe during that period. This article examines the early history of Hakoah, its rise to international fame, and its demise in 1938 at the hands of the Nazis and their sympathizers in Austria.

At The Edge Of The Modern?: Diplomacy, Public Relations, And Media Practices During Houphouët-Boigny's 1962 Visit To The United States, Abou B. Bamba

History Faculty Publications

Toward the end of the first decade after the decolonization of most African countries, there emerged a scholarly polemic about the weight of bureaucratic politics in the making of foreign policy in the Third World. A mirror of the reigning modernization paradigm that informed most postwar area studies and social sciences, the discussion unintentionally indexed the narcissism of a hegemonic discourse on political development and statecraft. Graham Allison and Morton Halperin—the original proponents of the bureaucratic model—implied in their largely U.S.-centric model that such a paradigm was not applicable to non-industrialized countries since the newly decolonized countries, for the most …

Rebirth Of A Strategic Continent?: Problematizing Africa As A Geostrategic Zone, Abou B. Bamba

History Faculty Publications

At a time when the U.S. Department of Defense is putting the finishing touches to the establishment of a military command for Africa (known as AFRICOM) and the People’s Republic of China’s influence on the continent seems to be on the rise, a detour through the history of America’s past geographical imaginations of Africa appears as a necessity. This is especially crucial since the current constructions of the African continent as a strategic place in both policy and military circles seems to echo the geodiscursive representations of Africa during the Second World War. In fact, it was in the early …

Triangulating A Modernization Experiment: The United States, France And The Making Of The Kossou Project In Central Ivory Coast, Abou B. Bamba

History Faculty Publications

Toward the end of the 1960s, authorities in the Ivory Coast decided to build the Kossou Dam, a hydro-electric dam on the Bandama River near the geographic center of the Francophone country. Initially conceived as a technopolitical measure to meet the growing energy demand of the most economically successful country of France's former colonies, the damming experiment soon emerged as a multipurpose regional development project aimed at correcting the regional disparities that tarnished the Ivory Coast's phenomenal economic growth.

This article focuses on the Kossou modernization experience and the sociopolitical transformations that it caused. I argue that the nationalist enthusiasm …

'Not Yet Ready': Australian University Libraries And Carnegie Corporation Philanthropy, 1935-1945, Michael J. Birkner

History Faculty Publications

In recent years the Carnegie Corporation's influence on Australian library development has been fruitfully examined from many angles, among them its role in promoting free-library movements in the various states. One piece of the story, however, remains mostly in the shadows: the Corporation's initiatives pointing towards modernizing and professionalizing Australian university libraries. Although the Corporation's philanthropic enterprise at the university level yielded mixed results at best, it was not inconsequential. It provided a blueprint for future university-library development in Australia. In one instance, at the University of Melbourne, it inspired a vice-chancellor to articulate a vision of a library future …