History Commons^™

Networks Of Care: An Autoethnography On These Innovative Products Of The Migrant Journey As Outlets For One's Development Of Citizenship, Catalina Betancur Velez

Global Studies Student Scholarship

What are the factors that influence a migrant’s understanding and development of citizenship as a sentiment in relation to the government and place in a community? Theories about citizenship emphasize the role of law and law enforcement as mediators of the dynamics between migrants and their feeling of citizenship. However, they often disregard or downplay the humanity in the development of one’s identity as a citizen or a non-citizen of a country. This paper approaches the study of citizenship through an autoethnography, which provides a unique opportunity to research and analyze the complexities of the process of one’s construction of …

Solidarity And The Soviet Union, Jillian Forrester

History & Classics Student Scholarship

Jillian Forrester ’22
Majors: Global Studies and History
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Margaret Manchester, History and Classics

This project examines the role of the Solidarity trade union in Poland, and its role in the transition of Poland from a Soviet Bloc country to a post-Communist government.

Rebranding The Native: Selling The ‘Ideal’ Indigenous Worker At The Carlisle Indian Industrial School, 1879-1918, Luke Prior

History & Classics Student Scholarship

Luke Prior ’22
Major: History/Secondary Education
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Alexander Orquiza, History and Classics

The Carlisle Indian Industrial School sought to recreate the image of the Native American from the savage brute of the past and the lazy free-loader who lived off the government ration to an ‘ideal’ worker who was a productive member of the American economy. In doing so, the school stripped students of their cultures and replaced them with American ideals. A very small minority of those at Carlisle used what they learned to fight against the assimilationist mission of the school.

An Unread Colonial Diary, Brigid Mcevoy

History & Classics Student Scholarship

Brigid McEvoy ’23
Majors: History and Spanish
Minors: Business and Innovation and Latin American Studies
Mentor: Dr. Adrian Weimer, History and Classics

Through funding from a Veritas Research Grant, I deciphered the Shelton shorthand writing of the second volume of Michael Wigglesworth's diary, digitized through the New England Hidden Histories project. Wigglesworth was a famous poet and preacher in early New England. One of the chief purposes of deciphering this second volume was to create a more nuanced perspective on Wigglesworth's life and artistic career.

This diary, written from March 1658 through November 1687, includes both longhand and shorthand writing. …

Bermuda’S Maritime Economic, Geographical, And Political Importance And Expansion Leading Up To The Imperial Crisis From 1740 To 1800, Gretchen Richardson

History & Classics Student Scholarship

Gretchen Richardson ’22
Major: History
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Steven Smith, History and Classics

I researched in the archives of Bermuda and the National Museum of Bermuda to uncover the answer to my research question: How did Bermuda fit into the complex puzzle of the Colonies' independence from the British Crown, and how did they, in turn, contribute to Bermuda's success as a remaining British territory? I discovered that Bermudians found themselves dependent on two opposing ends- England and her rebelling colonies. If Bermudians were to pledge allegiance to Congress, they would be declined the privileges of a British subject. Or, …

Terrible Terrell: The Forgotten Story Of Carolyn Daniels, Olivia Moll

History & Classics Student Scholarship

Olivia Moll ’22
Major: History
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Alyssa Lopez, History and Classics

My thesis explores the participation of black women in the Civil Rights Movement, more specifically the contribution from Carolyn Daniels. Daniels is a mother and SNCC activist from Terrell County, and her story has yet to be told. I am here to tell Daniels’s story; her success towards the SNCC voting registration project that took place in the summer of 1962. The beauty of the Civil Rights Movement is that everyone’s story and activism matters, especially the story of women.

Race Films & American Society, Angie Pierre

History & Classics Student Scholarship

Angie Pierre ’25
Major: Global Studies
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Alyssa Lopez, History and Classics

This project will explore Black cinema, specifically the race film industry and its relationship to Black identity and American society. Through an analysis of a number of early race films and archival documents from the 1920s, the project seeks to reveal how these films contributed to positive political, social and economic changes in Jim Crow America. Ultimately, the successes of race film pioneers are reflected throughout Black film history and the Black films we still watch today.

Changes In The Devadasi Tradition, Danika Bebe

Global Studies Student Scholarship

Danika Bebe ’23
Majors: Global Studies and Public and Community Service
Minor: Business and Innovation
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Trina Vithayathil, Global Studies

This creative research project examines the Devadasi profession in India. It seeks to understand the lived experiences of women who are temple prostitutes in current day India and their experiences of sexual exploitation and abuse. The findings from the research are shared through a poem entitled “around the sun”. A detail description of the stanzas and poem mechanism accompanies the poem.

Lo Afrocubano: Exploring Afro-Cuban Culture In Music, Literature, & Art, Pre- & Post-Cuban Revolution, Grace Maffucci

Foreign Language Student Scholarship

Grace Maffucci ’22
Majors: Music Performance and Spanish
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Monica Simal, Foreign Language Studies

After the abolition of slavery in Cuba in 1886, Black Cubans struggled for equality and a place in a White-dominated society. The twentieth century brought about a deeper exploration of Afro-Cuban culture and identity through several forms of art. Despite the promise of racial equality guaranteed by Fidel Castro at the dawn of the Cuban Revolution, conversations about racial identity were silenced. This study delves into the music, literature, and art of twentieth century Afro-Cuban artists, notably poet Nicolás Guillén, painter Wilfredo Lam, and …

Women’S Cricket In India: The P(L)Ay Gap, Lisa Mcnamara

Global Studies Student Scholarship

Lisa McNamara ’23
Majors: Global Studies and Black Studies
Minor: Business and Innovation
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Trina Vithayathil, Global Studies

This research project focus on inequalities in women’s cricket in India. Cricket is the most popular sport in India and the Indian national women’s and men’s teams have had considerable success in the international arena. This project draws upon a range of secondary sources (including documentaries, scholarly articles, organizational reports, podcasts, and news articles) to focus on two interrelated structural barriers that women’s cricket faces in India: the pay gap and the play gap. These two institutionalized forms of inequality …

Defining A Culture Through Artwork: Case Of Asian Pacific, Camryn Kelbaugh, Gianna Aiosa, Brooke Demarsico, Fiona Lyons

Education Student Scholarship

Camryn Kelbaugh ’22, Major: Biology
Gianna Aiosa ’25, Major: Elementary/Special Education
Brooke DeMarsico ’25, Major: Elementary/Special Education
Fiona Lyons ’25, Elementary/Special Education
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Comfort Ateh, Secondary Education

Artwork is a major tool in any culture. Unfortunately, it has not been extensively explored as a tool in discussing the cultural diversity in our communities. In our research shared in this poster presentation, we focused on the Asian Pacific people and examined their culture through artwork. We investigated artists and their lives towards a deep understanding of the role of artwork in defining culture of a people. We share what …

"In My End Is My Beginning": Families, Factions, Faith And Femininity As The Fatal Inheritance Of Mary Queen Of Scots, Mary Archbold

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

Mary Stuart Queen of Scotland’s long imprisonment and tragic execution has long overshadowed the brilliance of her early political strategy. Crowned and anointed Queen as an infant, raised in France, Mary had the disadvantage of returning to Scotland into a complex and contentious court at the height of the Scottish Reformation and noble power. As a woman, she faced the misogyny and discrimination of her nobles and the prominent preacher, John Knox. Her devotion to her Catholic faith only gave her enemies further ammunition against her. Despite these daunting factors, she managed to maintain a political strategy of factionalism, with …

The Power Of Mothers: A Comparison Of The Egyptian Goddess Isis And Virgin Mary During The Roman Empire Through Literature And Art, Katherine Burdick

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

The Egyptian goddess Isis and the Virgin Mary are two mother figures that were an essential part of Roman culture. Isis rose to prominence in Roman religion when the Republic expanded into Egypt in 30 B.C. She was adopted into the Roman pantheon alongside many other deities from other cultures. Mary rose to prominence in a very different way. A majority of early Christian worship was heavily persecuted and not accepted by many Roman emperors. However, eventually, Christianity eclipsed cult worship of deities. Isis and Mary were both seen as comforting mother figures for not only their sons, Horus and …

Solidarity And The Soviet Union, Jillian Forrester

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

The Solidarity trade union was the first independent, self-governing union to receive recognition under a Communist government. The union itself went beyond simple labor organizing, also becoming a political entity that helped Poland transition to a post-Communist government. The success of this union was due to its status as both union and social movement, as it was able to deeply permeate all aspects of society. Furthermore, the union's successful exploitation of existing social and economic issues in Poland brought the government to the bargaining table and led directly to its great success.

Mit Deutscher Gründlichkeit: The People Behind The World’S Most Effective Police State, Evan Diliberto

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

The Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (Stasi) was the infamous state security service of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR, or East Germany) active from 1950-1989. It was instrumental in keeping the Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands (the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, or the SED) in power for nearly 50 years. Stasi agents engaged in psychological warfare, murder, and torture of perceived enemies, most of whom were citizens of East Germany. The official mission of the Stasi was the maintenance of security of the state, however, the Stasi acted mainly as an ideological enforcer, targeting those with perceived hostilities to the GDR. The …

Augustan War And Peace: Analyzing The Role Of The Military In Maintaining The Pax Augusta In The Augustan Age, Maxwell Hovasse

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

The end of the Roman Republic was affected by decades of civil war, leaving the Roman population desperate for an end to the violence. Augustus’s rise to power was the solution for this violence. Augustus’s victory over Marc Antony both effectively ended the Roman Republic and the long period of civil unrest. As the new sole and undisputed ruler of the Roman world, Augustus sought to bring Rome into an era of peace, which would be known as the Pax Augusta, meaning the Augustan Peace. However, given that the Romans viewed peace as existing when an enemy had been completely …

Terrible Terrell: Black Women’S Activism The Forgotten Story Of Carolyn Daniels, Olivia Moll

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

More often than not, when individuals think of the Civil Rights Movement, idolized individuals like that of Martin Luther King, Ella Baker, and Malcom X, come to mind. While their activism was heroic, their contributions do not and should not represent the entire success of the Civil Rights Movement. The real fuel of the Civil Rights Movement was in the hands of the people, ordinary individuals, more specifically black women. My thesis explores the participation of black women in the movement in a particular region, that of Terrell County, Georgia. In the first chapter, the reader studies the racist and …

A Genealogy Of Ideas: From Transcendentalism Onward, Jakob Resnik

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

Most, if not all, fields of study operate almost like a conversation. Significant figures influence those after them and were themselves influenced by their predecessors. Philosophy, as a broader academic discipline, is no exception to this. Generally when the function of intellectual influence is considered it is only between pairs of notable thinkers. By treating the subject genealogically a historian can uncover significantly longer chains of influence. This paints an international and intergenerational picture that accounts for the ways various ideas have evolved, who they shifted through, and how different people played a role in the formation of subsequent philosophers. …

The Obedient Servants Of Opportunity: Bermudians In The Revolutionary Eighteenth Century Atlantic World, Gretchen Richardson

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

On August 14th, 1775, Bermudian elites and their slaves discreetly carried gunpowder from the island’s magazine onto two Rebel ships. The island’s Gunpowder Plot was organized by Colonel Tucker, the elite family’s patriarch, and members of the Continental Congress, like Benjamin Franklin. Under the terms of this plot, the Bermudians would supply the Continental Army with 100 barrels of gunpowder in exchange for exemption from Congress’ trade embargo and would receive provisions such as food. This negotiation, along with other illicit trade between the island and the rebelling Thirteen Colonies next door, raises the question: how did the British island, …

Rebranding The Native: Selling The ‘Ideal’ Indigenous Worker At The Carlisle Indian Industrial School, 1879-1918, Luke Prior

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

Brigadier General Richard Henry Pratt of the United States Army established the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in 1879, which was the foundation the United States federal government used to establish over twenty-five similar schools. From its founding to its closure in 1918, every aspect of the Carlisle School, whether curriculum or even football, sought to create an ‘ideal’ Indigenous worker that was sold to America as the new stereotypical Native American. To reach this goal, Carlisle stripped its students of their cultures by cutting their hair, changing their dress, restricting their use of native languages, and teaching from an American …

Let Us March On: Lavilla, Florida, And The History Of The Harlem Of The South, Christine Sullivan

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

Jacksonville, Florida, is a city that defies most expectations of an American city. Its massive size covers a vast array of people, cultures, and traditions. Jacksonville’s colorful history encompasses stories of success, failure, and control by three different nations. This diversity of people and backgrounds overwhelms Jacksonville’s narrative, leaving stories and memories forgotten. No more groups have been forgotten or overlooked in Jacksonville’s story more than the Black natives and residents. LaVilla, a neighborhood in downtown Jacksonville, is the historically Black community that has been consistently left out of Jacksonville’s story. LaVilla, known as the ‘Harlem of the South’, was …

Dorrite Prisoners Of War, Russell J. Desimone

Dorr Scholarship

Following two failed armed attempts in May and June 1842 by Thomas Wilson Dorr, the People’s governor, to establish the People’s government in Rhode Island, the opposing Charter government’s legislature enacted Martial Law throughout the state. During a period lasting several weeks forces allegiant to the Charter government and its governor, Samuel Ward King, commenced an all-out effort to arrest more than 260 pro-Dorr citizens. Some of Dorr’s followers fled the state to avoid arrest but those arrested appeared before a commission formed to interrogate the prisoners. Listed here are the actual accounts of each interrogation providing the reader with …

“Doe As Thou Wouldst Be Done By”: Relief Responses To Mental Illness In Puritan New England, Rebecca Farias

History & Classics Dissertations and Masters Theses

The emergent historical field of early American disability studies has catalyzed discussion on the mental and physical impairments that contributed to America’s cultural, medical, social, and economic foundations. How can historians tell an accurate story of mental illness, grounded in the narrative of America’s founding, and situate mental illness within disability studies? Literary and linguistic categories of analysis, presented in this thesis, can help historians begin to unpack disability in early modern New England.

The New England Puritan welfare model formed a basis of American disability ideology, a framework that persisted well until the 1800s. This article seeks to dispel …