History Commons^™

The Renaissance Plutocracy Of Cosimo De’ Medici: How He Used Patronage To His Advantage In 15th Century Florence, Victoria L. Schultz

The Exposition

This paper provides a detailed account of Cosimo de' Medici's patronage practices and the impact they had on the political and cultural landscape of Renaissance Florence. Cosimo consolidated power and influence in Florence, positioning himself as the city's preeminent political and cultural figure. This paper will examine the ways Cosimo leveraged his wealth and connections to establish a Renaissance plutocracy in Florence with a focus on his use of patronage to gain and maintain power.

The Third Horseman: Preventability Versus Apocalypse In The Great Famine Of 1315 And The Irish Potato Famine, Luke Ziegler

Honors Theses

Famine is a huge problem for societies, even in the modern world. Throughout history, famine has reared its ugly head and brought about demographic and societal collapse. The Great Famine of 1315 Famine and the Irish Potato Famine, despite their differences, had similar underlying factors of land management and overpopulation paired with an environmental catalyst, and also show that governmental response has the potential to both cause and prevent a famine, but only if the scale of the problem is limited. They both examine the question of national identity and create a multitude of debates in later historiography. Although these …

Reframing Space: Religion, History, And Memory In The Early Documentary Film Of The Yugoslav Space, Milja Radovic

Journal of Religion & Film

This paper examines cinematic representations of religion and religious communities in the early cinema of the Yugoslav space. This paper introduces the readers to the rich heritage of the cinema of the Yugoslav space by providing 1) the first study of the representations of religion and the concepts of faith in the early film, and 2) novel approaches in reading religion and history through film. Film is used as a primary rather than supplementary source in historical research on diverse religious and ethnic communities in this part of the Balkan Peninsula. This is the first study that investigates the importance, …

Decolonizing Kyiv’S Politics Of Memory: Current And Potential Implications Of Russia’S 2022 Invasion Of Ukraine On Ukrainian Monuments And Toponyms., Camilla Gironi

The Journal of International Relations, Peace Studies, and Development

History is the basis of our identity, but it sometimes represents a trap. As well explained by Keith Lowe, monuments are representative of our values, and every society deludes itself that its values will be everlasting. However, in a world changing at an unprecedented pace while we move on, urban furnishment such as monuments or streets’ names remain frozen in time. Statues and toponyms that were erected and chosen a long time ago may no longer be representative of the values we now treasure. While Russia’s aggression is still raging, a lot has been written on the potential implications of …

Beyond Words: Exploring History Through The Lens Of Literary Theory And Research, Andrea Weaver

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

The narrative of this Master's portfolio reflects on the academic journey of Andrea Weaver. The three projects showcased in this portfolio reflect her experience during the Master of Arts in English with a Specialization in English Teaching program. It includes a rhetorical Ohio Suffragist unit plan created for high school sophomores, a seminar paper critically analyzing the film Interview with the Vampire (1994), and a digital presentation of artifacts and research about literary theorist Wolfgang Iser and his work in Reader Response Theory presented on the platform Microsoft Sway. The framework of New Historicism is threaded throughout each project, linking …

The Threat To Academic & Intellectual Freedom, Christopher M. Jimenez, Melissa Del Castillo, Stephen Thomson Moore, Lowell Bryan Cooper, Jacqueline Radebaugh, George Pearson

Works of the FIU Libraries

The Academic and Intellectual Freedom Ad Hoc Committee presented a First Thursday discussion on May 4 about academic and intellectual freedom. Starting with a brief definition of these terms, they traced the history of Academic Freedom and how current events affect us at FIU. The committee posed several real-life scenarios threatening Academic/Intellectual Freedom in libraries. All library staff were invited to attend this lively discussion.

Socialist Legality On Trial: The Purge Of The Ukrainian Nkvd, 1938-1943, Reide Petty

Honors Theses

In the winter of 1938, Grigorii Iufa was put on trial in a Soviet court for the violation of socialist legality, a charge alleging that he had manipulated Soviet legal processes and undermined the rule of law during his work. Prior to his arrest, Iufa had worked in the Moldavian division of the NKVD, the Soviet Union’s state security agency. In that capacity, he had played a significant role in the Great Terror, which was a highly concentrated campaign of mass violence conducted by the Soviet Union between 1937-1938 against perceived enemies among its own citizenry. This campaign primarily consisted …

Die Deutsche Nationalversammlung Und Weimar: On The Creation Of Democracy In Weimar Germany, Jason Wendling

Honors Theses

This paper is a historical analysis of the creation of the Weimar Republic, as well as a political analysis of the Weimar Republic’s constitution. In reviewing both Weimar’s history as well as the constitution, I hope to inspire learners to look back to the Weimar Republic, and not focus primarily on the failures that led to the rise of the Nazi Regime, but rather celebrate the successes that the drafters of the constitution were able to achieve. I review the history of the 1918 November Revolution, the history and party programs of the three important parties of the Weimar Republic, …

Hist20600: Modern Europe, Benjamin Diehl

Open Educational Resources

This syllabus was created for the introductory course to Modern European history offered by City College's Department of History. It was designed by Benjamin Diehl, PhD candidate in History at CUNY Graduate Center as part of City College's OER Initiative. As such, it attempts to provide the outline of a Modern Europe course which is completely free, zero-textbook-cost, using open access resources.

Outreach Activities For The Sahs, Rob Sherwood

Swiss American Historical Society Review

On July 5, 2022, I visited Jan Sparkman at the Laurel County Historical Society, London, Kentucky. Ms. Sparkman is no longer the President of the of the Society, but she was the contact point that I had made. They have been in their building, a former County Health Department since 2007. They do not pay any rent nor utilities. It is a good space with lots of local history items, cemetery records, family history, etc. They have a small museum with images and artifacts about local history and have saved many primary records (marriage, land deeds, etc., from a neighboring …

Report Of The Editor-In-Chief Of The Sahs Review, Albert Winkler

Swiss American Historical Society Review

A Good Year for Articles

I wish to state that the quality and variety of publications in the SAHS Review for 2022 remain strong. The February 2022 issue included four good articles including the “Battle of Dornach in 1499,” the “History of the Swiss Consulate in New York,” “Swiss Heritage Preserved at New Glarus Museum,” and “Glarus and Scranton: Benefits and Costs of Industrialization.” The article on the Swiss Consulate was first published in 1926, so it is now in the public domain. The Swiss Consulate in New York asked us to publish it, so I had to type it …

The Origins Of Democracy In Switzerland, Thomas Quinn Marabello

Swiss American Historical Society Review

Switzerland is one of the world’s oldest continuous democracies. Since the Middle Ages, Swiss cantons engaged in democracy at the local level, which led to the Federal Charter of 1291. This important document laid the foundations for the Swiss Confederacy, an alliance of cantons that eventually became a unified democratic nation in the heart of Europe. For over seven centuries, Swiss democracy has impacted people and institutions in Switzerland and elsewhere. America’s founders were well versed in Swiss political institutions and borrowed from them when creating the Constitution of the United States. As democracies come under attack and see their …

Sahs Website Report, Richard Hacken

Swiss American Historical Society Review

The Website of the Swiss American Historical Society is one of the Society’s show windows to the world. The site consists of seven main pages.

About Us, the landing site and first web page, gives our mission statement and goals along with other general information and long-term announcements, such as the dates and locations of annual meetings for the next three years. There is also a listing of the officers of the Society with contact emails and a stand-alone “Contact” button for easy and rapid access to the Society from curious visitors.