History Commons^™

Sun Valley’S 2025 World Cup Downhill Course Improves Dick Durrance’S 1939 Course, And Recaptures The Excitement Of The Classic Harriman Cup Races, John W. Lundin

Works by Local Authors

In October, a delegation from the F.I.S. and US Ski & Snowboard (the country’s national governing body for skiing and snowboarding) gave final approval for the Sun Valley Resort to host the Audi F.I.S. Ski World Cup Finals between March 22-27, 2025. Twenty five men and 25 women from 30 countries will compete in all four Alpine skiing disciplines - slalom, giant slalom, downhill and super-G. International attention will be on Sun Valley, as European greats and their teams come for the tournament, and 2 million people are expected to watch the event in the U.S. alone. The final approval …

Establishing The Narrative – A Comparative Analysis Of Nashville Newspaper Reporting During The Civil Rights Era, Katherine E. Cannon

SPARK Symposium Presentations

Public memory serves as the collective public consciousness – how a group of people remember a historical narrative and thus how they interpret and interact with their current environment. Journalism and news reporting plays a pivotal role in the creation of public memory. This study will analyze the differences in reporting between two Nashville-based newspapers, The Nashville Banner and The Tennessean, and how their reporting shaped public memory in Nashville. These publications are crucial to the Nashville community and how the public is informed. To properly conduct this research with narrow enough scope to get accurate results, this study will …

The Shifting Power Dynamic: How The Director’S Role Redefined Collaboration With Playwrights, Riley K. Mcconnell

SPARK Symposium Presentations

The Shifting Power Dynamic: How the Director’s Role Redefined Collaboration with Playwrights

Riley McConnell

For much of theatre history, playwrights held primary authority over productions, shaping not only the script but also the staging and interpretation of their work. As theatrical production became more complex during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, however, the role of the director emerged as a central creative force. This essay explores how the development of the modern director transformed the collaborative relationship between playwrights and directors.  By examining the historical rise of directing, influential collaborations such as that between Anton Chekhov and Konstantin Stanislavski, and …

Do You Remember Me?: America's Racist Past And The Construction Of "Blackness", Shae South

SPARK Symposium Presentations

The United States has a dark and complicated relationship with the idea of race and what it means to belong to a specific group of people dating back to before the first enslaved African stepped foot onto its shores. The lynching case of Dan Davis showcases this precarious past, as the accounts of his brutal murder convey a level of excitement that was not unusual in these situations, yet he was quickly forgotten about and cast aside like many others who suffered a fate similar to his. This forgetting, the casting aside of traumas, has defined the Black experience since …

Revising The Nation: Tribal Sovereignty And The American History Textbook, 1929-2002, Grace R. Ellis

Library Map Prize

This thesis examines Indigenous representation in twentieth-century American history textbooks. Chapter One contends that the most popular U.S. history textbook of the late twentieth century, The American Pageant, erased tribal nations from its narrative and its maps. Across twelve editions (1956-2002), The Pageant taught generations of students that “Indians” served only as barriers to building the modern American nation-state. While Indigenous erasure can be traced back to specific passages in The Pageant, erasure can better be understood as an iterative process, both textual and cartographic in nature. Beginning in 1983, The Pageant added new maps that depicted tribes …

Engines Of Division: The Trabant, Economic Lag, And Cultural Fragmentation In A Unified Germany, Maria Carolina Auerbach

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis examines the Trabant, East Germany’s iconic yet inefficient automobile, as a critical lens through which to explore the enduring socio-economic and cultural disparities between East and West Germany in the aftermath of reunification. By tracing the Trabant’s trajectory from its inception within the GDR’s command economy to its rapid obsolescence in the face of Western market forces, this study reveals how the vehicle served as both a product and a symbol of East Germany’s industrial ethos, resilience, and identity. The Trabant, once a ubiquitous artifact of socialist life, embodied the constraints of a resource-scarce economy but also cultivated …

A Multiple Perspective Analysis On Urban Poverty In Developing Nations: A Case Study On Nigeria, Colonial Implications, And Modern-Day Outcomes, Julian Rivera-Williams

CMC Senior Theses

This paper will dissect urbanization and poverty in Nigeria as a case study of the challenges of underdevelopment and the lingering effects of colonialism in Africa. To draw a complete understanding of challenges faced by developing nations facing systemic underdevelopment, high poverty, and low productivity– nations like Nigeria, my research will uncover colonial impacts and post-colonial policies that initiated urban poverty and underdevelopment outcomes we see today. The purpose of my thesis is to encompass existing fragmented academia on the causes and consequences of underdevelopment and connect historical implications to current impacts of global development today including the influence of …

Fermented Resistance: The Role Of Kimchi In Preserving Korean Identity Through Colonialism And Modernization, Francis M. Ferreira

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis began with a simple observation during my year abroad in Seoul: kimchi was everywhere. It appeared at every table, in every household, and soon, in every question I had about Korean identity. What started as a personal curiosity evolved into a deep historical inquiry into how this single dish — made of fermented cabbage, radish, and spices — came to represent the soul of a nation. This thesis traces kimchi’s journey from a humble survival food in agrarian Korea to a symbol of resistance during Japanese colonization, a tool for reclaiming identity after liberation, and ultimately, a globally …

Invisible No More: Looking And Listening Locally To Build Conflict-Related Sexual Violence Resilience, Anjali Thakore

CMC Senior Theses

The ubiquity of sexual violence, with its devastating physical and psychological consequences, has rendered conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) one of the most effective and enduring “invisible crimes” of war. Despite receiving growing attention across academic, political, and activist circles, wartime sexual violence remains pervasive in contemporary conflict zones. Against the backdrop of these frequent and recurring violations, this thesis explores the dissonance between high-level rhetorical commitments to preventing and punishing CRSV and on-the-ground realities. What soon emerges is a troubling pattern in which gendered violence—and women’s lived experiences more generally—while increasingly visible in theory, remains marginalised in practice. By investigating …

Faltered States: The Rise, Fall, And Containment Of Psychedelic Science In The United States, Baxter Brew

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis traces the history of psychedelic science in the United States and its implications for policymaking. In the postwar period, psychedelic researchers were enabled by a unique convergence of optimism in medical science and structural flexibility. But their hope blinded them to the deeper tensions of their field. As institutions grew increasingly rigid and risk-averse, the space for psychedelics began to close. Some scientists responded by fortifying the walls around them, developing socially and professionally acceptable research methods. Others tried to escape these walls entirely. But neither approach could prevent psychedelics from being squeezed out of formal inquiry. Yet …

Preserving Roots: Assessing The Assyrian Community In Iraq Through The Eyes Of Aid Workers, Tara E. Dawood

CMC Senior Theses

This study aims to assess the unique challenges and experiences of Assyrians from Iraq from the perspective of humanitarian aid workers. The research questions are as follows: what factors contribute to Christians choosing to leave Iraq, especially in the last 25 years?; what actions by the Iraqi government would deter them from leaving or support them in returning? This study is significant because it focuses attention on the excessive numbers of Assyrians leaving Iraq. Although they are a minority, their translocation produced a massive resettlement of migrants—more than any other group in Iraq. By analyzing the role of the Iraqi …

Exporting Culture, Building A Nation: South Korea’S Use Of Pop Culture As A Soft Power Tool, Nathaniel J. Kim

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis examines the multiple governmental plans, policies, and actions by the South Korean government to support and globalize their pop culture products. After the crumbling of its economy and global image due to many external factors in the 1900s, South Korea found itself in poverty with very little global influence. To rebuild their nation, the government implemented many actions to help grow and strengthen their pop culture products to make them more desirable, domestically and internationally. This thesis analyzes three of the major pop culture exports for South Korea, television, movies, and music, and demonstrates how the government has …

The Inextricable Link Between Gendered Security And State Stability: Strategic Costs Of U.S. Humanitarian Retrenchment, Kirby Eh Kimball

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis examines the strategic consequences of the 2025 U.S. foreign aid freeze on gendered security in conflict-affected states, focusing on Sudan, Syria, and Ukraine. It argues that gendered security—the protection, empowerment, and rights of women and girls—is not a peripheral humanitarian concern but a foundational determinant of state stability, development, and democratic resilience. Through a qualitative comparative case study methodology, the research synthesizes empirical literature, United Nations reports, human rights documentation, and cross-national statistical analyses to demonstrate how the collapse of gender-focused humanitarian programs following the aid freeze will critically exacerbate conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), weaken state institutions, and …

Reconceptualizing Madness: Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Autobiography And The Cultural Landscape Of Insanity, Gender, And The Illness Experience, Claire Paley

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Project Tackle 12 Years Of Cia And Taiwanese Joint Reconnaissance Overflights, Maximilian Digiovanni

Honors Theses and Capstones

Project TACKLE was a joint collaborative project between the CIA and the Taiwanese government to facilitate U-2 spy plane missions flown by Taiwanese pilots over China. These missions, conducted from 1962 to 1974, provide critical insights regarding the US and Taiwan’s fluctuating relationship during this period. TACKLE missions played a crucial role in informing policymakers on a variety of subjects, such as the progress of China’s rapidly evolving nuclear weapons program. This paper situates the TACKLE missions within the broader political context of their time to highlight the constant prioritization challenge that plagued the program.

The Argument For “New Aquileia”: Literary Responses From The Venetian Church To The Synod Of Mantua (827 - 1049 C.E.), John Ferraro

2025 CoLA Student Showcase

Ferraro analyses the literary responses of the church of Grado and the origins and development of the early medieval schism within the church of Aquileia.

Fiscal Citizenship And Taxpayer Privacy, Alex Zhang

Faculty Articles

Should individual tax data be public or confidential? Within the United States, secrecy has been the rule since the Tax Reform Act of 1976. But at three critical junctures—the Civil War, the 1920s, and the 1930s—Congress made individual tax records open for public inspection, and newspapers published the incomes of the billionaires of the time. Today, Finland, Norway, and Sweden all mandate significant transparency for individual tax information.

This Essay intervenes in the tax-confidentiality debate by building a new analytical framework of fiscal citizenship. Until now, scholars have focused on compliance—whether disclosure incentivizes honest reporting of income, and if it …

Healing Communities With Police Divestment: Seeking Abolition Through Transformative Reform And Community-Government Collaboration, Jessica E. Gillson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Concerns about the efficacy and sustainability of the U.S. carceral system have persisted throughout the country’s history, recently fueling renewed activism and bipartisan calls for reform. However, proposed solutions remain divisive. This thesis first defines the current status of our prison systems, then explores collaborative alternatives to incarceration and policing that support communities and break cycles of incarceration.

Focusing on partnerships among local governments, community organizations, justice-involved individuals, and law enforcement, this study examines holistic approaches to crime prevention, reentry, and reintegration. Using an interdisciplinary framework incorporating restorative justice, community resilience, and systems theory, it investigates how community-based strategies can …

Nebraska Test #2301: Claas Xerion 12.650, Nebraska Tractor Test Lab

Nebraska Tractor Tests

ABOUT THE TEST REPORT AND USE OF THE DATA The test data contained in this report are a tabulation of the results of a series of tests. Due to the restricted format of these pages, only a limited amount of data and not all of the tractor specifications are included. The full OECD report contains usually about 30 pages of data and specifications. The test data were obtained for each tractor under similar conditions and therefore, provide a means of comparison of performance based on a limited set of reported data. EXPLANATION OF THE TEST PROCEDURES Purpose The purpose of …

Nebraska Test #2300: Claas Xerion 12.590 Terra Trac, Nebraska Tractor Test Lab

Nebraska Tractor Tests

ABOUT THE TEST REPORT AND USE OF THE DATA The test data contained in this report are a tabulation of the results of a series of tests. Due to the restricted format of these pages, only a limited amount of data and not all of the tractor specifications are included. The full OECD report contains usually about 30 pages of data and specifications. The test data were obtained for each tractor under similar conditions and therefore, provide a means of comparison of performance based on a limited set of reported data. EXPLANATION OF THE TEST PROCEDURES Purpose The purpose of …

Nebraska Test #2297: John Deere 9rx 770, Nebraska Tractor Test Lab

Nebraska Tractor Tests

ABOUT THE TEST REPORT AND USE OF THE DATA The test data contained in this report are a tabulation of the results of a series of tests. Due to the restricted format of these pages, only a limited amount of data and not all of the tractor specifications are included. The full OECD report contains usually about 30 pages of data and specifications. The test data were obtained for each tractor under similar conditions and therefore, provide a means of comparison of performance based on a limited set of reported data. EXPLANATION OF THE TEST PROCEDURES Purpose The purpose of …

Nebraska Test #2298: John Deere 9rx 830, Nebraska Tractor Test Lab

Nebraska Tractor Tests

ABOUT THE TEST REPORT AND USE OF THE DATA The test data contained in this report are a tabulation of the results of a series of tests. Due to the restricted format of these pages, only a limited amount of data and not all of the tractor specifications are included. The full OECD report contains usually about 30 pages of data and specifications. The test data were obtained for each tractor under similar conditions and therefore, provide a means of comparison of performance based on a limited set of reported data. EXPLANATION OF THE TEST PROCEDURES Purpose The purpose of …

Nebraska Summary #1291: Fendt 614 Vario, Nebraska Tractor Test Lab

Nebraska Tractor Tests

ABOUT THE TEST REPORT AND USE OF THE DATA The test data contained in this report are a tabulation of the results of a series of tests. Due to the restricted format of these pages, only a limited amount of data and not all of the tractor specifications are included. The full OECD report contains usually about 30 pages of data and specifications. The test data were obtained for each tractor under similar conditions and therefore, provide a means of comparison of performance based on a limited set of reported data. EXPLANATION OF THE TEST PROCEDURES Purpose The purpose of …

Statement From The Indiana Academy Of The Social Sciences And Board Of Directors

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Critical Theory And The Decline Of American Patriotism, Caron L. Norton

Master of Arts in Classical Studies

Abstract

CRITICAL THEORY AND THE DECLINE OF AMERICAN PATRIOTISM

Caron Norton

Southeastern University, 2025

Nationwide there has been a progressive decline in patriotism since the turn of the 21st century. Instead of growing in affection towards their country, more and more American citizens reach adulthood frustrated and angry with the United States and its heritage. Some become consumed with hatred. Rather than honoring America’s forefathers, Americans have torn down and desecrated statues and symbols from the past. Where did this antipatriotic fervor come from? How did Americans become disillusioned? This shift in mood can be directly attributed to the rise …

The Horrors Of History: Gender, Folklore, And Puritanism In Robert Eggers’ The Witch, Trinity Stuckey

Undergraduate Scholarship

This paper examines Robert Eggers' 2015 folk horror film The Witch as a legitimate form of historical interpretation that illuminates the intersection of gender, folklore, and religious belief in 1630s colonial New England. Through analysis of primary sources including Cotton Mather's Memorable Providences, Samuel Willard's possession accounts, and Salem witch trial records, this study demonstrates how Eggers' meticulous attention to historical detail creates a narrative that captures the psychological and sociocultural dimensions of Puritan experience. The paper argues that by taking seriously the theological worldview of its subjects rather than dismissing supernatural elements as superstition, The Witch achieves a …

A Crucible For Allotment And Assimilation: The Referendum For Ratification Of The Sioux Act Of 1889 On The Standing Rock Agency, Richard Keith Smith

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

Determining post-Civil War national policy regarding American Indians was a tedious process. Many entities could describe themselves as stakeholders in the process, stakeholders who were beholding motivations which they would describe as significant. Those motivations would, to varying degrees, take the interest of Native Americans into consideration. It was in the liminal environment of volatile policy adjustments that American Indians were compelled to make decisions regarding their future. The Dakota (Sioux) represented a crucible for the recently approved General Allotment Act of 1887. The rise of progressive tribal leadership was a primary reason for the sudden passage of the Sioux …

Disrupting The Timeline: Challenging Notions Of A Singular, Linear Early Muslim Historiography, Grayson D. Shaw

Pomona Senior Theses

Few historical events have received the same attention in the formative years of Islam as the so-called “‘Abbāsid Revolution” in 132 AH/750 CE. In both the medieval and modern contexts, this event has been recognized as a monumental formation from which the rest of Islamic history comes downstream from. Problematically, there are no cohesive historical sources from the losers of this conflict; the Umayyads. Utilizing numismatic and architectural evidence, I argue that the alleged rupture between the Umayyads and their ‘Abbāsid successors is overblown by historiography two centuries after the fact. Then, I further analyze what this continuity means for …

The Heart Of The University: Student Clubs And The American Colonization Of The Pacific, Eli Arnold

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Students have travelled across the Pacific Ocean to study at the University of Montana for over a century, and the contributions of these students deserve to be studied. This thesis explores the educational and community building roles that the historic International Club and Filipino Club, as well as the contemporary Pacific Islanders Club fulfilled. Students from the Philippines and Hawaiʻi provide clear examples of the potential for college campuses to be gathering places for broader community. This thesis is also a study of the global phenomenon of colonialism as seen from Filipino and Native Hawaiian students who travelled to Missoula …

He Lāhui Ano MaikaʻI Keia: Japanese Immigration And The Intersections Of Ethnicity And Sovereignty In Kalakaua's HawaiʻI, Neal Melela'i Cooper

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The late 19th century was a tumultuous period in Hawaiian history. Characterized by the interrelated questions of royal succession, political sovereignty, and labor immigration, the period of King Kalakaua's reign was the culmination of a building social crisis that had begun the moment American settler-colonials arrived on the shores of the archipelago. Throughout this time, King Kalakaua leveraged his acute political mind to build a coalition of nationalist Hawaiians in order to restore native traditions and seek out allies abroad in the hopes of resisting America's military and economic might. Using the labor supply as a wedge, Kalakaua was able …