History Commons^™

Keep Calm And Carry On: Uncovering The True Blitz Spirit, Lauren Niedergeses

Honors Theses

First shown by Britain’s civilian population during the Blitz, this Blitz Spirit is widely understood today as a heroic display of courage, cheerfulness, unity, and the ability to “keep calm and carry on” in the face of danger and discomfort. Drawing from radio broadcasts, photographs, propaganda posters and films, and the wartime morale reports of Mass-Observation, I seek to uncover the true Blitz Spirit and how it became an integral – if somewhat mythicized – element of Britain’s modern identity. First, I explore the emergence of the Blitz Spirit during World War II, identifying gaps between reality and propagandistic myth. …

The Era Of The Great War, Barbara Syrrakos

Open Educational Resources

This is a draft template syllabus for "The Era of the Great War", an upper-level course offered in a department of history. The syllabus provides a core set of readings and links, with plenty of room for the adopter to add or subtract materials, and to craft their own assignments. The course focuses on the wider period of the war, including art and literature, women and war, a peek into two cases from the colonies, a re-visiting of the Arab revolt and Lawrence, and a larger dimension of the mixing of historiography and the value of primary sources, including contemporary …

Transimperial Networks And East Asia: Timeline, Menglu Gao, Sophia Hsu, Waiyee Loh, Hyungji Park, Jessica R. Valdez, Adrian S. Wisnicki, Rae X. Yan

English and Literary Arts: Faculty Scholarship

To help instructors and students who may be unfamiliar with the history of East Asia and its transimperial exchanges with the Anglophone world, the creators of the “Transimperial Networks and East Asia” lesson plan cluster built this timeline, which includes some major historical events from the fifteenth to the twentieth century. This timeline comes out of our many discussions about the methodological issues that arise when the field of Victorian Studies seeks to expand its traditional geographical scope. As we quickly realized in the process of creating our cluster, the usual boundaries of the long nineteenth century (the French Revolution …

Barbarians & Heretics: Anti-Greek And Anti-Latin Sentiments In Crusade-Era Chronicles, 1096-1204, Ryan Saputo

Honors Theses and Capstones

Historians have debated the role of stereotypes and hostile language in the diversion of the Fourth Crusade to Constantinople mostly through the outdated "Clash of Civilizations" lens. This work investigates the role of hostile stereotypes in both Western and Byzantine narrative histories discussing the first four crusades through a deep textual and literary analysis. This work argues that contemporary narrative histories from the first four crusades demonstrate that virulently hostile attitudes abounded in both Byzantine and Western sources, and that these attitudes greatly affected diplomatic and political decision making during Byzantine-Crusader interactions from 1096-1204. This work's close textual examination of …

The Cartulary Of Prémontré: People, Places, And Networks From Medieval To Digital, Yvonne Seale, Heather Wacha

History

The cartulary of the northern French abbey of Prémontré was produced in the mid-thirteenth century, and preserves acts dating mostly from the 1120s to 1230s, with some later additions. Although the abbey of Prémontré was the mother house of a prominent monastic order, and despite the relative abundance of its documentary record, that source base has been comparatively little studied. In this article, we discuss the process of undertaking the first full edition of this manuscript, some preliminary findings, and the scope that new digital technologies might afford in future prosopographical studies of the cartulary.

Atlantic Legacies: Free Women Of Color And The Changing Notions Of Womanhood In The Long Nineteenth Century, Marie Stephanie Chancy

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on three free-born African-descended women who defied expectations and prejudices to live previously unthinkable lives in the nineteenth century. The project uses their biographies to illustrate how, as black and mixed-ancestry émigrés from the Americas living in Europe, they adopted and adapted the evolving notions of ideal womanhood. As a result they expanded who could be identified as a true, redemptive or new woman. The project shows how they used the tenets of these ideals to live life on their terms. The dissertation is set in an era dominated by white males, and defined by the enslavement …

Different Class: The Creation Of The Premier League And The Commercialization Of English Football, Colin Damms

Master's Theses

This project examines how English football evolved from a culture of hooliganism and poor upkeep into a popular and enterprising industry across the globe. The Premier League and its stars marketed the English game and its culture worldwide. Since the 1990s England has established itself as the leading club footballing nation. I argue that through football, and the culture and economics behind it, we can see the ways in which England attempted to change its image in the modern world. In the 1980s and 1990s Britain was confronted with its own established culture of violence, bigotry, and nationalist pride, particularly …

An Ominous Horizon: Fascism On The Rise, Matt Bergh, Carol Helstosky

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

The notorious dictator, Bentio Mussolini, became Prime Minister of Italy in 1922- 3 years after the Treaty of Versailles concluded the settlements for World War I in the summer of 1919. Shortly thereafter, Mussolini established his formidable dictatorship that would last 23 years. Post-war Italy experienced economic stagnation, high unemployment, inflation, frequent labor strikes, and stalled production and output among other problems. Many Italians were also frustrated that their country did not receive more recognition in the Versailles Treaty for its contribution to the Allied Cause in the Great War. Interestingly, though, the situation in Italy was very similar to …

Crisis And Catalonia: An Analysis On The Impact Of Crisis On The Public Opinion Of The Secessionist Movement In Catalonia, Rachel Ducker

Honors Theses

Catalonia, the autonomous region of Spain has seen an increase in secessionist sentiments in recent years. While the past inclination toward independence has been centered on economic autonomy and cultural identity, there has been a recent emphasis on political independence, particularly in the times of crisis. In this thesis. I analyze the relationship between the economic changes during the period of a crisis and the public opinion about the potential Catalan secession. Specifically, it investigates the relationships between the economic change and public sentiment during the financial crisis of 2008, the political crisis of 2017, and the pandemic crisis of …

Roman Britain And Anglo-Saxon Britain: Cultural Difference, Levi Michael Berg

Scholar Week 2016 - present

A role of historians is to distinguish between cultural groups. They must investigate the practices and artifacts in order to create a model. This model should accurately explain events such as celebrations, war, or in the case of Britain, cultural intertwining and invasion. Britain is an interesting case to study in the Middle Ages because of the amount of intermixing that takes place. Within the time period of a few hundred years, Britain had seen multiple different distinct people groups inhabit the island. This paper will focus on the major cultural differences of the two earliest invasions, the Romans and …

Aerial Terror: The Shift In American Daylight Bombing Over Europe During World War Ii, Joseph Sullivan

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

In the final two years of the Second World War, the United States abandoned daylight precision bombing for terror bombing. During the interwar years, the United States cited international norms and laws to speak out against unjust air attacks by Germany and Japan. Even during the United States’ period of neutrality, President Franklin Roosevelt criticized Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union for their tactics. But, as the war dragged on, the ferocity and persistence of the Nazis forced the United States to change their approach to strategic bombing. With fewer military industrial targets remaining and Allied casualties rising, the US …

Waning Imperium: Valentinian I’S Projection Of Power, Philip Piscopo

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

In my thesis, I argue that the reign of Valentinian I (364-375) was marked by two main themes. First, as the founder of a new dynasty, Valentinian was obsessed with legitimizing his reign and safeguarding it for future generations. Second, because of poor subordinates and poor communication, he was unable to adequately govern the provinces leading to instability and chaos.

I worked to add two aspects to the scholarly discussion of Valentinian’s reign. Most scholars have individually pointed out that it was important for Valentinian to cement his legitimacy and budding dynasty. I show that this was not merely an …

Modern Europe, Barbara Syrrakos

Open Educational Resources

Modern Europe Syllabus in History

Re-Thinking Pandemics: State, Society, And Disease In British History, 1830-1960, Meghan Walsh

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

Written during the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper began in an attempt to understand why, after 100 years since the most devasting pandemic in modern history, the world was faced with yet another, but more importantly how people responded to this new normal. In order to understand better how society today responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to know the past and see what has emerged with each new pandemic. For the purpose of this thesis, I examine the cholera epidemics of 1831-1866, the 1918 influenza pandemic, and the polio epidemics of the mid-twentieth century in British history. The thesis …

Terrorists Or Freedom Fighters : An Analysis Of The Irish Republican Army In Northern Ireland With Respect To The Idea Of Just War, Allison Jean Fritz

Honors Theses

For more than two decades, Northern Ireland has suffered the high social cost of a violent political conflict. Debates over the nature of this conflict have been wide-ranging, but the dominant view is that the conflict is criminal rather than political in nature. This view holds that the violence is widespread terrorism, with the Irish Republican Army (IRA) seen as the chief protagonist. But while this view is dominant, it is not ubiquitous. It is held neither by those who challenge the foundations of the Northern Irish state nor by those communities which are tolerant if not supportive of those …

A Historical Analysis Of The Causes Of The French And Indian War, Jake Althouse

Honors Theses

The current study attempted to answer the following research question: what were the causes of the French and Indian War between Great Britain and France in 1754? To do so, the current study researched secondary sources from a historical perspective, political theories regarding the causes of war, and primary sources from individuals involved in the build-up to conflict. Previous research by historians and political scientists have mainly attributed the causes of the French and Indian War to a security dilemma and the spiral theory of war. The current study does not support this assertion. Instead, the current study asserts that …

From The Dark Margins To The Spotlight: The Evolution Of Gastronomy And Food Studies In Ireland, Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire

Books/Book Chapters

For many years, food was seen as too quotidian and belonging to the domestic sphere, and therefore to women, which excluded it from any serious study or consideration in academia. This chapter tracks the evolution of gastronomy and food studies in Ireland. It charts the development of gastronomy as a cultural field, originally in France, to its emergence as an academic discipline with a particular Irish inflection. It details the progress that food history and culinary education have made in Ireland, suggesting that a new liberal / vocational model of culinary education, which commenced in 1999, has helped transform the …

Visit Which Scotland? Political Events Illuminating Two Competing Visions Of Re-Emerging Scottish Identity Since The Late Twentieth-Century, Erin W. Delaney

Senior Independent Study Theses

Since the late twentieth century, Scotland has undergone a series of political changes. I argue that a consequence of these changes has been increased support for a separate national Scottish identity. By analyzing competing visions of this identity through the tourism industry and Gaelic revival, this IS shows the complexities of this move towards nationalism. While many scholars have analyzed the re-emergence of Scottish identity since 1707, the relationship between Gaelic revival efforts and the tourism industry have not been connected to show the complexities of this re-emerging Scottish identity. This IS draws on a vast array of interdisciplinary sources …

A Civil Society: The Public Space Of Freemason Women In France, 1744–1944, James Smith Allen

University of Nebraska Press: Sample Books and Chapters

A Civil Society explores the struggle to initiate women as full participants in the masonic brotherhood that shared in the rise of France’s civil society and its “civic morality” on behalf of women’s rights. As a vital component of the third sector during France’s modernization, freemasonry empowered women in complex social networks, contributing to a more liberal republic, a more open society, and a more engaged public culture.

James Smith Allen shows that although women initially met with stiff resistance, their induction into the brotherhood was a significant step in the development of French civil society, including the promotion of …

Donde Las Nubes Se Unen Al Mar = Where The Clouds Meet The Water, Kimberly E. Contag

MSU Authors Collection

Donde las nubes se unen al mar (2021) es la traducción de la narrativa histórica Where the Clouds Meet the Water (2004), un libro que explica la saga de Ernesto Contag Ziehe y su familia durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Ernesto y su familia fueron deportados de su patria ecuatoriana a la Alemania de los Nazis en 1942. La narrativa histórica que se lee casi como novela se basa en la investigación en bibliotecas, hemerotecas y archivos en tres continentes y en los documentos originales de los sobrevivientes de este canje político internacional de inocentes.

Donde las nubes se unen …

The Ethics Of Aerial Bombardment In International Conflicts: From Douhet To Drones, Rauan Zhaksybergen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In this thesis, I demonstrate how the question of ethics in aerial bombardment has been evolving and transforming since its inception at the beginning of the twentieth century to contemporary targeted killings/assassinations by drones. I interact with early airpower theories from Douhet, Trenchard, Mitchell, and contemporary air tactics in order to establish a crucial sequence between these early theories and practices of aerial violence and modern ones conducted by armed drones. I show how the evolution of aerial bombardment challenged, influenced, and transformed essentials of conventional warfare, as well as dispersed boundaries between combatants and non-combatants. Contemporary legally uncontrolled targeted …

Moorish Revival Synagogue Architecture: Community And Style, Past And Present, Emily S. Jelen

Binghamton University Undergraduate Journal

The Moorish architectural style, originating in medieval Spain, was revived in the mid-nineteenth century. It became strongly linked with synagogues, first in Germany and then throughout the Western world. My research analyzes why the architects and Jewish communities were so attracted to the Moorish Revival style. During this period, European Jewish communities were tasked with constructing synagogues that could showcase their newfound freedoms as well as their history, culture and aspirations. Many argue that this style was chosen to demonstrate the connection between the communities and their ancient Middle Eastern history.

Towards Consortship: Performing Ritual, Intercession, And Networking In Tudor And Early Stuart England, Courtney Herber

Department of History: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Historically, the study of consorts has largely focused on how women performed the role – generally analyzing how a particular queen acted as a royal wife, mother, and manager of her household. While this makes sense as most of the consorts in English history were women, this is not the whole picture of the varied political roles of a consort. Looking at all of the foreign-born consorts in the Tudor and early Stuart years, one can clearly see that while the duties of a wife were important for the majority of individuals who took on the mantle of consort, that …

The Legion Of The Archangel Michael: The Past And Present Appeal Of Decentralized Fascism, Andrew Bennet Gillen

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

The Legion of the Archangel Michael (LAM) was a notorious fascist group in Romania from the years 1927-1941. It was a highly religious fascist movement, led by Corneliu Codreanu, and attracted many young men to its banner in the middle of the 20^th century. However, its appeal appears to not be limited to the past. In 2017, at the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, one of the lead organizers of the rally was seen wearing a shirt depicting Codreanu. In 2019, London’s Sanctuary Press published a new translation of Codreanu’s memoir, and in Romania, the Alliance for …

Beneath The Surface: Hadrian’S Underground Contributions To Roman Greece, Michaiah Elizabeth Kojoian

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

Reigning during the ‘Golden Age’ of Rome, Emperor Hadrian is remembered mostly for his excessive travel and magnificent building projects such as the Roman Pantheon, his villa at Tivoli, and the famous Hadrian’s Wall. Despite his attention to the city of Rome, however, Hadrian was also very involved in providing for the needs of the Roman provinces. This research explores Hadrian’s legacy as a ‘good’ and philhellenic emperor while also noting his imperial proactivity. This is accomplished by a thorough examination of his aqueducts in Roman Greece, especially his aqueduct in Athens through archaeological and literary sources. This research specifically …

Soaring With Eagles: The Life And Legacy Of Janina Lewandowska, The Only Female Pow Killed In The Katyń Forest Massacre, Joshua Chlebowski

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

In March of 1940, Joseph Stalin ordered the execution of approximately five thousand Polish prisoners of war, setting off a chain of events leading to the Katyń Massacre. Buried in seven mass graves, these soldiers’ bodies remained undisturbed until German forces unearthed them several years later. Even more shocking to the Polish nation than this discovery was the revelation that one of the victims was a female military officer: Second Lieutenant in the Polish Air Force, Janina Lewandowska. Indeed, the presence of her body was at the center of a fifty-year cover-up.

Exploring the life of Janina Lewandowska offers more …

Yaupon Drink: A Medicine Bundle In The Atlantic World, Steven P. Carriger Jr

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines yaupon drink, a tea made from yaupon holly along with other ingredients, as a medicine bundle in the Atlantic World. Originally a medicinal drink used by Native Americans across the what is today the American South, over time the tea became a trade good demanded by the Spanish and a medicinal herb sought by European botanists and medical practitioners. Chapter One traces yaupon’s origins across the southeast and bundles the drink into the many cosmic and social connections it held. Chapter Two shows how the Spanish colonial presence offered an alternative to yaupon in Florida, through Christianity …

Capitalism And Biblical Ethics, Sarah D. Stewart

Liberty University Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy

There has been a growing trend in some expressions of Christianity to view Capitalism as fundamentally incompatible with the Christian faith. This article looked to a variety of sources to argue that Christianity and Capitalism are not fundamentally incompatible. Rather, Capitalism developed alongside developments in Christian theology during the Middle Ages. This traditional form of Capitalism is defined and argued for in this article. The article attempts to demonstrate that the elements that allow Capitalism to thrive are compatible with Christian ethics. The case is made by first examining the historical development of Capitalism and its relationship to Christianity. From …

The Aftermath Of The Black Death In England: Edward Iii's Economic Policies To Repress The Peasantry, Leah Diciesare

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

The Black Death caused a mass mortality in England, drastically affecting society. However, it was the aftermath of the plague that had the greatest impacts. The loss of life removed pressure on the economy due to population density, which gave the peasants opportunities to improve their lives. But that was a short-lived phenomenon; the peasantry ultimately remained repressed, as they had been prior to the plague. Edward III meddled in the English economy in the wake of the Black Death by introducing price and wage regulations. These efforts were to maintain the status quo in English society so that the …

Hist 101 Early Modern Europe, Tracey L. Billado

Open Educational Resources

This course introduces the major social, intellectual, political, religious, and cultural trends of Europe during the early modern period.