Cultural History Commons^™

The Holocaust's Legacy: Influencing Jewish Political Identity, Jordan Eskew

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis addresses the intricate relationship between the historical persecution of the Holocaust and its enduring influence on contemporary Jewish political engagement, a subject of significant contemporary relevance in political and international relations. Despite broad recognition of the Holocaust’s impact, the specific ways in which its memory affects Jewish political attitudes and actions around the world in the modern day have not been sufficiently thoroughly examined. Utilizing qualitative methods, including interviews with 20 individuals—public figures, Holocaust survivors, their descendants, and broader members of the Jewish diaspora— this study focuses on understanding the interplay between historical trauma, community cohesion, and the …

Breaking And Setting The Pattern: European Influences On Early Catalan Nationalism, Gabriel Black-Planas

Undergraduate Honors Theses

During the development of the Catalan nationalist political tradition between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, early Catalanist thinkers drew heavily from the examples of their European and American contemporaries. As Catalonia developed an industrial base and began celebrating its linguistic and cultural heritage during the nineteenth century, it increasingly looked outwards. Seeing themselves as more European than Spanish, Catalanist desperately wished to modernize their region and nation. To this end, Catalanists developed a very specific and Eurocentric standard for civilizations that they thought critical for national development. This work traces the development of this model, what it entailed, how it …

The People Of Seljuq Baghdad, 1069-1089, Henry Stratakis-Allen

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In recent years, scholars of the Islamic Middle East have fiercely debated the nature and underlying causes of the so-called ‘Sunni Revival’, a period of Sunni political resurgence and theological consolidation centered around the city of Baghdad that lasted throughout the eleventh century. Despite the importance of this period, which witnessed the crystallization of mainstream Islamic thought as it is known to the present, scholars have been unable to synthesize its phenomena into a single convincing narrative. This shortcoming is owed largely to scholars lacking a robust structural understanding of Islamic society during this period, particularly with respect to Baghdad. …

"The Unlucky Rebel": William Claiborne And The Evolution Of The Kent Island Dispute, Adam Pleasants

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis attempts to present a more complete view of the often-overlooked conflict over Kent Island between the merchant and early Virginian politician William Claiborne and the Lords Baltimore by presenting it in the evolving cultural context of the Atlantic world.

“Pass The Pickles”: Viewing Class And Dining In Virginia City, Nevada Through The Pickle Castor, Sage Boucher

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis employs a material culture methodology, which understands people through the objects that they interacted and applies it to the study of the pickle castor; this 19th-century American dining object represents an intersectionality between the unique social and economic space of Virginia City, Nevada in its silver rush Bonanza (1859-1882) and 19th century dining processes. The study will first walk through the history of the pickle castor itself, showing the food culture it is connected to, and the production processes. It will then pivot to setting this historical stage of Virginia City, Nevada in the silver rush, showing it …

Disappearing Smoke: Why Black Pitmasters Are Being Left Behind By Commercialization Within North Carolina Whole Hog Barbecue, Charlotte Lucas

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In North Carolina, there is only one Eastern whole hog establishment left that is owned by black pitmasters. As a result of historical context, black pitmasters have been left behind by the recent trend of commercialization within North Carolina whole hog barbecue. This exclusion can be explained by examining the history of whole hog barbecue, the struggles black entrepreneurs face in the restaurant industry, and the role that the media has played in ignoring black pitmasters. Historical background dives into the history of the whole hog from the plantation era to the Civil Rights movement and beyond in North Carolina …

The Rails That Bind: America's Freedom Trains As Reflections Of Efforts To Form Cultural Consensus And Indicators Of The Weakness Of Cold War Memory, Daniel Speer

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper assesses why two projects with the same name, concept and intent of forming cultural consensus, the Freedom Trains, took such different forms between the postwar "consensus" (1947-1963) and detente (1963-1979) phases of the Cold War. It argues that organizers Attorney General Tom C. Clark (1947), Ross Rowland (1975), and their corporate backers articulated histories based on perceived common values of limited rights (1947), cultural pluralism (1975) and consumption (both) that attempted unity, but resulted in silences. The reception to each train, and the organizers' responses to those reactions, showed the limitations of a unifying consensus, but varied between …

Silver, Ships And Soil: Gift-Giving In Medieval Icelandic Sagas, Emma Eubank

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Through applying anthropological theory to gift exchange in medieval Icelandic sagas, we can uncover a wealth of information about the construction and reinforcement of gender, power, and value. This study incorporates Mauss, Sahlins, and Graeber alongside other theorists to analyze how the narrators of Egil's Saga, The Saga of Grettir the Strong, and Gisli Sursson's Saga perceived a past Iceland.

"Summer's Gone:" Rethinking The History Of The Beach Boys, 1961-1998, Grant Wong

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis rethinks the history of American rock band The Beach Boys from 1961-1998 in terms of how its members tapped into the zeitgeists of the sixties, seventies, and eighties to create successful music and branding. In its analysis, it draws upon methods of cultural history, business history, and biography in order to dispel popular myths surrounding the band and consider the meaning of its impact within United States history and American popular culture as a whole. The Beach Boys, in recording innovative music and marketing a winning brand, created a durable pop cultural institution that defined its times just …

Progressive Education In Appalachia: East Tennessee State Normal School And Appalachian State Normal School, Holly Heacock

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this thesis, I am examining how East Tennessee State Normal School in East Tennessee and Appalachian State Normal School in Western North Carolina interpreted progressive education differently in their states. This difference is that East Tennessee State began as a state funded school to educate future teachers therefore their school and their curriculum was more rounded and set to a structured schedule. Appalachian State Normal School was initially founded to educate the uneducated in the “lost provinces” therefore, curriculum was even more progressive than East Tennessee State’s – based strongly on the practices of farming, woodworking, and other practical …

The Reality Of Combat!: An Analysis Of Historical Memory In Broadcast Television, Kaleb Q. Wentz

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis is an analysis of the World War II television drama COMBAT!, which ran from 1962 to 1967, and how this program dealt with and addressed the national memory of the Second World War. The way in which the “Good War” is remembered has changed over time. In the years of the conflict and immediately following its conclusion, there was a sense of zealous patriotism surrounding the war, but as our culture changed, a more critical approach was taken.

This paper examines the way in which the show deals with its two main subjects – the American forces …