History Commons^™

Hot Topic Of The Cold War: Analyzing The Bomb In American Media During The Late Twentieth Century, Ryan Lambert

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This thesis explores nuclear war–related media (i.e., media involving “the Bomb”) from the late twentieth century, beginning in the early 1950s and ending in the late 1990s, although media from the 2000s and beyond are briefly touched on. Unlike other studies of nuclear war narratives, this analysis intends to explore this media through a rhetorical framework of an “eroding” society, and the “erosion” concepts of the 50s–70s paved the way for cumulative “erosion” storylines in the 80s (the height of the Cold War), and then “restoration” storylines in the 90s (after the end of the Cold War). This framework is …

“None In Velvet Gowns”: Camp Followers And White Womanhood In Eighteenth-Century Anglo-American Warfare, Angelica Labren Torres

History Theses

For over two hundred years, women who followed American and European armies during the long eighteenth century were popularly stereotyped and denigrated as prostitutes, burdens, and generally individuals of ill repute by both contemporaries and subsequent generations of historians. While recent scholarship has largely debunked this long-standing characterization as simplistic and inaccurate, the question remains: why exactly were these women so mischaracterized in their own time, particularly by commissioned officers and other members of Anglo-American middling and elite classes, when ample evidence existed of their material usefulness and comparative marital fidelity? This thesis seeks to address the ideological and cultural …

¡Salud! Sacrificing The Sacred Sip: A Critical Analysis Of The Impact Of The Spiritual Conquest On Alcohol Traditions In Central México, Elizabeth Vilchis

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

By thoroughly investigating the available primary sources, this thesis will convey the importance of the Mesoamerican inebriating drink pulque in both the ethos and mythos of ancient Nahua society, examining how the ritual use of pulque became problematic in the eyes of the Spaniards, by investigating the cultural and ideological contradictions or double standards that enabled the tensions, struggles, and violence with which the Spanish colonial regime repressed the ritual use of pulque. This thesis compares the Nahua ethos and mythos of pulque to the Christian ethos and mythos of wine, highlighting the parallels perceived by Spaniards in Central México …

My Autobiography Of Listening: A Worksheet, David Keck

C. Listening for One’s Own Voice

This 1-page worksheet provides a framework for exploring the ways in which a person's experiences shape their listening habits and capacities. It helps users answer the question, "How did I come to listen this way?"

Afro-Indigenous Burial Ground Gpr Survey Data From Umass Boston Archaeological Work, Shelter Island, Ny, John M. Steinberg, John Schoenfelder, Nedra Lee, Stephen Mrozowski, Chiara M. Torrini, Tess Ostoyich, Claire Ross, Kristen Delatour, Joseph E. Kinney

Data and Datasets

Survey data from the ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey at the Afro-Indigenous Burial Ground (AIBG) at Sylvester Manor, Shelter Island, NY. Zip folder contains raw recorded data (radargrams). Additional files include zipped shapefiles for GPR transects, trees and rocks; and  dat file. Fieldstone marker files include zipped folders with an excel sheet listing numbered fieldstone markers, and a sheet listing the photographs of the fieldstone markers. Fieldstone marker number allows tor joining the photographs, and the "rock" shapefile to the list of markers.

The .rd7 files are the type generated by MALA GPR systems to record raw data (they are …

Derek R Clandillon - Cwgc Certificate, Jenifer A. Harding

Documents: Derek Robinson Clandillon

Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) Certificate for RAF cadet Derek R Clandillon who died on January 19, 1943, while training to be a pilot at 5BFTS. He is buried in the CWGC British Plot. at Oak Ridge Cemetery, Arcadia.

Derek R Clandillon - Biography, Jenifer A. Harding

Documents: Derek Robinson Clandillon

Biography of RAF cadet Derek T Clandillon who was killed in a plane crash on January 19, 1943, while training to be a pilot at 5BFTS. He is buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission British Plot. at Oak Ridge Cemetery, Arcadia.

Michael K Hines - Biography, Jenifer A. Harding

Documents: Michael Kevin Hinds

Biography of RAF cadet Michael Kevin Hines who was killed in a plane crash on July 13, 1944, while training to be a pilot at 5BFTS. He is buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission British Plot. at Oak Ridge Cemetery, Arcadia.

Michael K Hines - Biography And Tribute 5bfts Newsletter September 2019, Jenifer A. Harding

Documents: Michael Kevin Hinds

‘In Memoriam’ Tribute and Biography of RAF cadet Michael Kevin Hines who was killed in a plane crash on July 13, 1944, while training to be a pilot at 5BFTS. He is buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission British Plot. at Oak Ridge Cemetery, Arcadia. This was first published in the 5BFTS Newsletter #14, September 2019.

John Anthony Clay - Biography, Jenifer A. Harding

Documents: John Anthony Clay

Biography of RAF cadet John Anthony Clay who was killed in a plane crash on January 19, 1943, while training to be a pilot at 5BFTS. He is buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission British Plot. at Oak Ridge Cemetery, Arcadia.

Louis Wells - Cwgc Certificate, Jenifer A. Harding

Documents: Louis Wells

Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) Certificate of RAF cadet Louis Wells who died in a car accident while training to be a pilot under the Arnold Scheme at Gunter Field, Montgomery, Alabama. He is buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission British Plot. at Oak Ridge Cemetery, Arcadia.

Richard Baden Thorp - Cwgc Certificate, Jenifer A. Harding

Documents: Richard Baden Thorp

CWGC Certificate for RAF cadet Richard Baden Thorp who was killed in a plane crash on July 16, 1942, while training to be a pilot at 5BFTS. He is buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission British Plot. at Oak Ridge Cemetery, Arcadia.

Lionel Marcus Viggers.Course 20. Biography, Jenifer A. Harding

Documents: Lionel Marcus Viggers

Biography of RAF cadet Lionel Marcus Viggers who was killed in a plane crash on October 9, 1944, while training to be a pilot at 5BFTS. He is buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission British Plot. at Oak Ridge Cemetery, Arcadia.

Ronald Albert Purrett - Cwgc Certificate, Jenifer A. Harding

Documents: Ronald Albert Purrett

Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) Certificate for RAF cadet Ronald Albert Purrett who died on December 14, 1942, while training to be a pilot at 5BFTS. He is buried in the CWGC British Plot. at Oak Ridge Cemetery, Arcadia.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission (Cwgc) Certificate For Raf Cadet Lionel Marcus Viggers, Jenifer A. Harding

Documents: Lionel Marcus Viggers

Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) Certificate for RAF cadet Lionel Marcus Viggers who died on October 9, 1944, while training to be a pilot at 5BFTS. He is buried in the CWGC British Plot. at Oak Ridge Cemetery, Arcadia.

Geoffrey Robert King - Cwgc Certificate, Jenifer A. Harding

Documents: Geoffrey Robert King

CWGC Certificate for RAF cadet Richard Baden Thorp who was killed in a plane crash on December 3, 1942, while training to be a pilot at 5BFTS. He is buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission British Plot. at Oak Ridge Cemetery, Arcadia.

Forbes M Robertson - Part: 5bfts Newsletter 14, Sept 2019, Jenifer A. Harding

Documents: Forbes McKenzie Robertson

Extract from 5BFTS Newsletter 14, September 2019, relating to RAF cadet Forbes McKenzie Robertson who was killed in a plane crash on April 24, 1943, while training to be a pilot at 5BFTS. He is buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission British Plot. at Oak Ridge Cemetery, Arcadia.

Geoffrey Robert King - Biography, Jenifer A. Harding

Documents: Geoffrey Robert King

Biography of RAF cadet Richard Baden Thorp who was killed in a plane crash on December 3, 1942, while training to be a pilot at 5BFTS. He is buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission British Plot. at Oak Ridge Cemetery, Arcadia.

Forbes Mckenzie Robertson - Biography 2, Jenifer A. Harding

Documents: Forbes McKenzie Robertson

Biography of RAF cadet Forbes McKenzie Robertson who was killed in a plane crash on April 24, 1943, while training to be a pilot at 5BFTS. He is buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission British Plot. at Oak Ridge Cemetery, Arcadia. This was written by Mike Willoughby for the ‘Henley-on-Thames Lest We Forget Project’, a Memorial Book for the men of Henley-on-Thames who died in WW2. Mike, a local historian, has researched and, with his wife, Lesley, has written two books on Henley servicemen who lost their lives in WW1 and WW2.

Mathematics And Political Ideology: A Historical Argument Against The Cultural Understanding Of Mathematics As An Apolitical Field, And A Journalistic Report On The Impact Of The Trump Administration On American Mathematics In 2026, Philo Judson

Pitzer Senior Theses

The interplay between political ideology and mathematics is a recurring theme throughout the history of the academic field. Mathematics has been used as a tool of empire, while mathematicians have been elevated by states as symbols of national genius for political prestige. Political ideologies have also shaped the field from within, both through the suppression of mathematical thought and the enforcement of mathematical authority. Since 2025, the Trump administration has launched large-scale political attacks on American institutions of higher education, which include lawsuits, discrimination investigations, and the removal of federal funding from certain institutions that don’t adhere to the administration’s …

Countryside Aflame: Fire As A Hazard In The Rural Philippines, 1850–1950, Greg Bankoff, Marie Beatriz D. Gulinao, David O. Lozada Iii, Mary Donna Grace Cuenca

History Department Faculty Publications

Fire has shaped human evolution, social organisation, and technological development, yet modern fire science remains anchored in categories derived largely from Western experience: wildland fires, the wildland–urban interface, and urban conflagrations. These frameworks obscure a fourth, largely overlooked regime– village fire– rural settlements that lack the structural protections, materials, and services characteristic of urban areas. In the Philippines, where rural settlement dominated into the twentieth century, village fire was the principal way people encountered fire risk. Using evidence from the Historical Data Papers (1951), this study reconstructs a village fire regime marked by highly combustible construction, new technological sources of …

Fashioning The Body Politic: Explorations Of The Political Semiotics Of Fashion In France And England During The French Revolution, Annika F. Gauthier

Scripps Senior Theses

In the midst of the French Revolution, women’s fashion underwent a complete revolution, moving from the multi-layered elaborate gowns of the ancien regime, to light, form-fitting dresses. These gowns reveal the way clothing reflects the political positions of women and the ways the French and the British used clothing to construct national identity and politics. Following research on the political symbolism and role of clothing across France and Britain, this thesis reviews fashion’s overarching connection to politics, revealing its role in the early French Revolution’s conception of women and patriotism, women’s responses to political exclusions, and rival nations’ adaptations of …

The Good Life Of A Sportsman, Reid G. Vaillancourt

UNH URC Open (2026 and after)

The Good Life Of a Sportsman

“The Irishmen – Immigrants, Soldiers, And The Spark Of Revolutions”, Joshua Hanscheck

History Theses

The Irish, as a people and a revolutionary inspiration, have been the subject of research and discussion for much of the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries. A trope has emerged that the Irish could take over the world, if they were not so busy chasing the bottom of their pub glasses, but the trope – stereotypes about Irish drinking aside – is grounded in some truth. The diaspora encouraged many things: a revival in Gaelic culture, a general disdain among outsiders for the Irish as a people group, and, most importantly, a revolutionary fervor that seemed almost infectious. This fervor …

Datums And Benchmarks From Sylvester Manor Umass Boston Archaeological Work, Shelter Island, Ny, John M. Steinberg, John Schoenfelder, Chiara M. Torrini, Joseph E. Kinney, Stephen A. Mrozowski, David B. Landon

Data and Datasets

Datums from Sylvester Manor Archaeological work (2019-2026).  Includes zipped shapefile of points and complementary csv, that includes the site areas for each datum.

Excavation Units From Sylvester Manor Umass Boston Archaeological Work, Shelter Island, Ny, John M. Steinberg, John Schoenfelder, Chiara M. Torrini, Joseph E. Kinney, Stephen Mrozowski, David B. Landon, Nedra Lee

Data and Datasets

Excavation units from Sylvester Manor archaeological work (1998-2025). Includes zipped polygon shapefile with outlines of excavation units.

Shovel Test Pits From Sylvester Manor Umass Boston Archaeological Work, Shelter Island, Ny, John M. Steinberg, John Schoenfelder, Chiara M. Torrini, Joseph E. Kinney, Stephen Mrozowski, David B. Landon, Nedra Lee

Data and Datasets

Shovel test pits (STPs) from Sylvester Manor archaeological work (1998-2025). STPs were excavated as 50cm-x-50cm squares and sometimes expanded into larger excavations. These points typically represent the southwest corner of test pits but not always. See shapefile metadata for more information. Includes zipped point shapefile with points each representing one corner of a STP.

Family Cemetery Gpr Survey Data From Sylvester Manor Umass Boston Archaeological Work, Shelter Island, Ny, John M. Steinberg, John Schoenfelder, Stephen Mrozowski, Nedra Lee, Chiara M. Torrini, Tess Ostoyich, Claire Ross, Joseph E. Kinney

Data and Datasets

The .rd7 files are the type generated by MALA GPR systems to record raw data (they are unprocessed binary data files containing the recorded electrical signals), along with .cor (coordinate data), .mrk (markers on radargrams), .mrkj (modern version of .mrk), and .rad (header file; contains survey parameters, antenna frequency, samples per trace, time window, and velocity) files. The info.dat file was derived from GPR-Slice. It is a critical ASCII text file that maps the GPR radargram filenames to their specific spatial positions. It defines the survey grid layout, including line lengths, survey direction (X or Y), and profile spacing. These …

Artifact Catalog From Sylvester Manor Umass Boston Archaeological Work, Shelter Island, Ny, Christa M. Beranek, Stephen Mrozowski, David B. Landon, Nedra Lee, John M. Steinberg, John Schoenfelder, Chiara M. Torrini, Joseph E. Kinney

Data and Datasets

Artifact catalog from Sylvester Manor archaeological work (1998-2025) as of May 2026. The Artifact_List.rtf is a text file listed by unit and context.  Artifact_Table.xlsx is the same data, but in tabular form.  Unit_Contexts.xlsx is a table listing all the contexts by unit.

Artifact_Table and Artifact_List are very large files.

A Pageant Of Spectacles: Chromolithography In America, Matthew H. Edney Phd

Osher Map Library Exhibition Catalogs

Chromolithography was used in the nineteenth century to create full-color and realistic images of the world. A Pageant of Spectacles: Chromolithography in Nineteenth-Century America, an exhibition at the Osher Map Library from November 30th, 2023 - June 29th, 2024, explained the printing process and explored some of its particular applications to maps and bird’s-eye views. This exhibition catalog features the companion article Mapping, Printing, and Color, which explores the history of different printing processes used in mapmaking throughout history, as well as a catalog of the items displayed in the exhibition.

A digital version of exhibition is available …