International and Area Studies Commons^™

Warsaw Uprising Of 1944, Vanessa K. Gusciora

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

The Warsaw Uprising of 1944 was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army (Armia Krajowa) to liberate Warsaw from Nazi German occupation. It began on August 1, 1944, and lasted 63 days, as the poorly equipped resistance fought against well-armed German forces. The Soviet Red Army, stationed across the Vistula River, offered no significant aid, leaving the insurgents isolated. The uprising was brutally suppressed, resulting in approximately 200,000 Polish civilian and combatant deaths. Warsaw was left in ruins, and the city’s population was forcibly expelled. Despite its tragic outcome, the uprising symbolized Polish resistance and …

Carry The Revolution Until The End: The Role Of Maoist Dialectics In Modern Chinese Politics, Elijah Han

Araneum: Richmond Journal of American & Global Affairs

Despite the significant changes brought by reform and opening up and the apparent demise of Maoism as the Communist Party’s governing ideology, Maoism has continued to thrive in Chinese politics as a political language and dialectical theory despite theoretical weaknesses inherited from its European counterparts. An investigation into the frequency of mentions of “contradiction” and their contexts within the political reports to the 20 National People’s Congresses since the founding of the People’s Republic demonstrates that Maoist dialectical rhetoric is effective in setting policy goals, driving policy reform, and consolidating national unity. Furthermore, the patterns of frequency reflect changes in …

The Lion, The Fox, And The President: Machiavelli's Foreign Policy And Barack Obama, Eli Chancey

Araneum: Richmond Journal of American & Global Affairs

This undergraduate thesis is a culmination of a senior seminar course focused on the works of Florentine politician and statesman Niccol. Machiavelli. Infamous for his common caricature as an amoral shoulder devil for authoritarians, Machiavelli’s works have been interpreted in countless fashions. While The Prince and the Discourses, his two most significant writings, mainly focus on domestic politics, they give some attention to international affairs. This thesis serves to identify Machiavelli’s foreign policy philosophy within these works and reconcile the differences between their varied interpretations. Then, it will turn toward a modern-day prince, President Barack Obama, to determine his level …

"I See Your True Colors Shining Through": How Judge Attributes Affect Outcomes In Transgender Rights Cases, Jordan Jones

Araneum: Richmond Journal of American & Global Affairs

This study examines how U.S. District Court judge attributes influence case outcomes in transgender rights lawsuits. The judge attribute model says that judges are influenced by outside factors, which are the key independent variables in this study. These include judge ideology, gender, and age. There is variation in the categories that transgender cases fall under, so different case types are tested. Additionally, there is a concurring region and religiosity variable. This variable stems from data that certain regions are more religious than others and that religion may have an influence on the viewpoints of transgender people. The dependent variable is …

Deforestation, Trade Liberalization, And Environmental Politics In The Brazilian Amazon: 1990-2022, Kerin Debany

Araneum: Richmond Journal of American & Global Affairs

This paper explores the relationship between trade liberalization and deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon from the beginnings of widespread trade liberalization in the 1990s to 2022. This paper, through an analysis of deforestation from soy and beef production, concludes that trade openness and foreign direct investment (FDI) alone cannot fully explain the rapid environmental degradation occurring in the Brazilian Amazon. Despite Brazil’s efforts to integrate into global markets, the levels of trade and FDI are relatively low. Instead, the policies of Brazil’s government play a decisive role in shaping deforestation trends. The contrasting presidencies of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva …

Creating New Webs, Jackson Sandler-Bussey

Araneum: Richmond Journal of American & Global Affairs

No abstract provided.

Introduction, Kyle Giardine

Araneum: Richmond Journal of American & Global Affairs

No abstract provided.

Why Do We Vote?: An Analytical And Data-Centered Approach To The Impact Of Infrastructure Quality On Voter Turnout In Virginia Counties, Alex F. Broening

Araneum: Richmond Journal of American & Global Affairs

Everyday political discourse centers around the direction of voting far more than the choice to vote itself, despite low turnout rates in the United States overall, and especially in local and non-presidential elections. No existing model provides a complete explanation of the reasons and influences that cause individuals to participate in politics by casting a ballot, and the literature is especially fractured with regards to issue-specific activation of voters. This work expands on previous issue-focused studies by performing turnout analyses for Virginia counties alongside geographic analysis of infrastructure quality and access. The findings suggest that the quality of infrastructure has …

From Arrival To Citizenship: Assessing Refugee Resettlement In Canada, Ethan S. Kanef

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I examine the role of private sponsorship mechanisms in the resettlement of refugees in Canada. Private sponsorship allows citizens and organizations to do more to help those who need assistance, though there are positives and negatives to this program and concerns about its long-term stability. My thesis discusses the impacts of these resettlement mechanisms as a whole, based on a review of prior scholarship and interviews conducted in Montreal and Toronto. I focus on the refugee experience before arrival and the role of different application processes and culture in Quebec. After arrival, the paper examines economic and …

Is Energy Localized Or Gone With The Wind? An Analysis Of Iberdrola’S Wind Energy Localization Initiatives In Burgos, Spain, Mia Cromwell

Honors Theses

While renewable energy systems offer solutions to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, promote sustainable development, and foster a just energy transition, certain energy projects account for local needs while others do not. While community energy projects are known to provide localized energy benefits, less is known about large-scale companies’ abilities to foster just transitions through their energy systems. To better understand how global actors can promote a just and sustainable transition through renewable energy deployment, I explore the following research question with a focus on the global electric utility Iberdrola: To what degree does Iberdrola implement energy localization initiatives through wind …

The Kathina Robe Offering Festival In Myanmar: Unveiling Social Dynamics And Cultural Identity, May Zin Nyunt

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This research paper examines the Kathina Robe Offering Festival in Myanmar, a major cultural and religious event that has plays an important role in building social cohesion, preserving cultural identity, and perpetuating Buddhist beliefs. Anchored in the Theravada Buddhist practices of generosity (dana), merit-making, and rejoicing, the Kathina Festival is a significant expression of communal and religious values in Myanmar's diverse society. This study aims to identify the multi-faceted role played by the Kathina festival in urban and regional perspectives, and it explains how it is used to create community cohesiveness in Yangon, or how local cultural nuances differ from …

La Voz Winter 2024, El Instituto: Institute Of Latina/O, Caribbean, And Latin American Studies

La Voz

In this issue: 

• Joint Senior Faculty Hire Between the Department of Sociology and El Instituto
• Congratulations to our Colleague Rodolfo Fernandez!
• Building a Better Future: The Latino and Puerto Rican Policy Agenda Summit
• New PRSI Dashboards
• Update on NDOU Department
• CALAHE Annual Conference

The Kitchen In The Church Complex: Work And Sacred Space At ‘Ain El-Gedida, Dana Robinson

Faculty Publications - Department of History and Politics

The fourth-century church complex at ‘Ain el-Gedida, in the Dakhleh Oasis, provides a striking case study for the integration of kitchen work into social and religious space in late antiquity. Its unique features – both sociological and archaeological – reflect a dynamic, rough-and-tumble integration that both protects the sacred space of the nave and centres the productive labour of cooking. This article analyses the anteroom/kitchen B6 from the perspectives of space syntax, the communicative landscape of labour, and the sociology of graffiti. While it may have been designed as a transitional zone or service auxiliary for the primary public spaces …

Interculturality, Creolization, And Globalization In "Ángeles Nómadas" By Minelys Sánchez, Cecily Bernard

Comparative Woman

No abstract provided.

Madness As Response To Inherent Cultural Conflicts In Anglophone Fiction From 1700 To 2020, Anna Klambauer

Comparative Woman

Madness in literature has a long and colourful history. While its representation varies significantly in different literary periods, madness is nonetheless a consistent theme responding to inherent conflicts of civilisation. Thus, in the eighteenth-century novel, madness is subdued and forced to express itself in the language of rationality, while in the nineteenth century the theme becomes increasingly subversive. In the form of the madwoman trope (Gilbert and Gubar 1979), madness is simultaneously a reaction to restrictive patriarchal norms, and a frame in which the gender conflicts of the time can be safely and effectively played out. In the twentieth century, …

"Too Immoral To Be Narrated By A Woman": Censoring Erotic Fiction Of Arab Women Writers In Girls Of Riyadh And Distant View Of A Minaret And Other Stories, Muhammed Salem

Comparative Woman

In the Arab world, bargaining with censorship has been an ongoing struggle for writers, particularly female authors. How could we explain that only male writers were allowed to discuss sexuality in the Arabic canon, insofar as female characters are portrayed as passive sexual objects? Are Arab women writers victims of double censorship? One is imposed on their fellow male writers, and another is tacit censorship which judges women’s morality based on their writing. Girls of Riyadh (2007) by Saudi novelist, Rajaa Abdullah Alsanea, and Distant View of the Minaret and Other Stories (1987) by Egyptian novelist, Alifa Rifaat, are two …

Mapping Literature In The Age Of Ai, Virginia Ramos

Comparative Woman

"Mapping literature in the age of AI" discusses the concept of "mapping", from its historical meaning to its technological meaning in the field of literature and AI tools developed in recent years and designed to "map literature". The article addresses ethics, biases, and the issue of human capacities vis a vis machine capacities, in support of the critical and crucial value of the humanities and their unavoidable relationship with GenAI.

[Review Of The Book African Security: Local Issues And Global Connections, By A. B. Bah], Christopher Korkor

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

The article focuses on how the Basketball Africa League (BAL) utilizes Instagram to shape its public image and promote its players within a growing continental sports league. Topics include the league's strategic use of social media content—primarily game highlights and player achievements rather than sponsorship or social initiatives—the framing of athlete nationality in promotional material, and the broader tension between showcasing African talent and appealing to international audiences.

Strategic Diplomacy: The Singapore Case, Country Report For The Project On ‘Strategic Diplomacy For 21st Century Defence And Statecraft’, Evelyn Goh, Wee-Kiat Lim

CCX Research

How does Singapore conduct strategic diplomacy despite being a small and constrained state? This report first identifies the major long-term drivers affecting Singapore’s security, both at the domestic level (rapidly ageing population, immigrant assimilation, and growing societal fault-lines) and at the international or systemic level (changing global order, power of technology, slow collective action on climate change). Then it analyses how Singapore strategists deal with two of their most prominent problem-sets: (i) positioning Singapore in relation to the US-China rivalry and the changing international order; and (ii) tackling climate change as a collective action problem. Both problem-sets illustrate how Singapore …

Impact Of A Covid-19 Related Lockdown On The Experience Of Informal Caregiving In Singapore, Vicky Mengqi Qin, Abhijit Visaria, Rahul Malhotra

ROSA Journal Articles and Publications

Introduction: Lockdowns, while limiting COVID-19 transmission, can affect provision of care by informal caregivers and their caregiving experience. We assessed, among informal caregivers in Singapore, (a) the perceived impact of a 2-month (April to May 2020) nationwide lockdown on their care provision, (b) correlates of different perceptions of the impact of the lockdown on care provision, and (c) association of different perceptions of the impact with negative and positive experiences of caregiving. Methods: In the August 2020 wave of the Singapore Life Panel (SLP; nationally representative, longitudinal monthly survey of Singapore citizens and permanent residents aged 50-70 years at baseline), …