The late 1910s and the early 1920s in the United States were marked by a period of African American activism that is referred to as the New Negro Movement. Although this movement promised radical...Show moreThe late 1910s and the early 1920s in the United States were marked by a period of African American activism that is referred to as the New Negro Movement. Although this movement promised radical and lasting change in American society, much of the activists' efforts lacked this power. In contemporary history, this relative failure is blamed on various external factors. This thesis looks at the "Marcus Garvey Must Go Campaign" which was the result of a conflict between black nationalist Marcus Garvey and socialists A. Philip Randolph and Chandler Owen. By analyzing the feud, it is argued that interpersonal conflicts, instead of external factors, came to determine the movement and contributed to its weakening.Show less
“Colorism”, the unofficial term for discrimination or preferential treatment not based on the construct of “race”, but based on skin color, is a term created by writer Alice Walker in 1982....Show more“Colorism”, the unofficial term for discrimination or preferential treatment not based on the construct of “race”, but based on skin color, is a term created by writer Alice Walker in 1982. Although the term is reasonably new, the construct it represents is not. At the intersection of race, class and gender there is the construct of “colorism”which has for hundreds of years influenced Blacks in America. It is the construct of “colorism” of African American women within the Black American community in the early twentieth century during the New Negro Movement or Harlem Renaissance which I have examined in this MA thesis. Focusing on the writings, and imagery from the covers and advertisements of the highly influential Crisis Magazine when created and under the leadership of scholar and activist W.E.B Du Bois from 1910 until 1934, and supported by theories on race and whiteness, I have researched the dominant middle class Black beauty ideals of the early twentieth century, through the “passing” narratives and images of "black" women in the magazine.Show less
This research offers a new perspective to existing scholarship on the Alien and Sedition Acts that includes the political voices of ordinary citizens and immigrants
This thesis considers the role of the Iroquois in the American Revolution. It examines the Iroquois' own motives for reaching decisions to either support the British or Americans. Mostly based on...Show moreThis thesis considers the role of the Iroquois in the American Revolution. It examines the Iroquois' own motives for reaching decisions to either support the British or Americans. Mostly based on primary sources, this thesis discusses long-standing alliances, the role of missionaries and other factors that contributed to the Iroquois' participation in the Revolutionary War.Show less
This thesis discusses two novels that use the dystopian genre to critically reflect on the political and social response to 9/11: Thomas Pynchon’s Bleeding Edge (2013) and Cormac McCarthy’s The...Show moreThis thesis discusses two novels that use the dystopian genre to critically reflect on the political and social response to 9/11: Thomas Pynchon’s Bleeding Edge (2013) and Cormac McCarthy’s The Road (2006). These novels depict a United States that has been, or is going to be, devastated by a catastrophe that is seemingly, or in Pynchon’s case explicitly, inspired by 9/11 and the political and social response to it. This thesis examines how and with what effect these novels use dystopian themes and imagery to respond to the way American society is changed socially and politically because of political efforts to unify it and security measures that were taken in response to 9/11, and critically reflect on the political and social consequences of the attacks.Show less
This thesis investigates the National Interreligious Task Force on Soviet Jewry as an organization advocating for Soviet Jewish emigration and as an interreligious cooperative. It asks how the Task...Show moreThis thesis investigates the National Interreligious Task Force on Soviet Jewry as an organization advocating for Soviet Jewish emigration and as an interreligious cooperative. It asks how the Task Force, under the supervision of the American Jewish Committee, contributed to the Soviet Jewry movement and how the organization’s efforts differed from those of the leading Soviet Jewry organizations. As an interpretive framework, the tension between particularism and universalism is used. The thesis argues that the Task Force universalized the base and the agenda of the Soviet Jewry movement. By mobilizing Christians on a local, national and international level, the Task Force broadened the base, often using human rights and human rights instruments such as the Helsinki Final Act as a means to universalize the struggle. Furthermore, the Task Force universalized the agenda by including Soviet Christians in their advocacy, thus taking a universalistic approach to linkage. As an interreligious cooperative, the Task Force advanced interreligious dialogue in the United States and helped promote the particularistic American Jewish agenda. Consequently, the American Jewish Committee allowed the Task Force flexibility regarding linkage, although they preferred a particularistic approach themselves.Show less
This thesis aims explore the role of “post-blackness” in the development of hip hop in the nineties, mainly through newspaper articles and existing interviews with hip hop artists. This thesis...Show moreThis thesis aims explore the role of “post-blackness” in the development of hip hop in the nineties, mainly through newspaper articles and existing interviews with hip hop artists. This thesis contends that although black artists and the media partially show a “post-black” perception of hip hop in the nineties, this perception is also problematized because hip hop in the nineties was still rooted deeply in the notion of “black authenticity.”Show less
This thesis looks at the Greater St. Louis urban area in Missouri and Illinois, USA, roughly in the second half of the twentieth century. It takes as its central theme the notion of urban crisis,...Show moreThis thesis looks at the Greater St. Louis urban area in Missouri and Illinois, USA, roughly in the second half of the twentieth century. It takes as its central theme the notion of urban crisis, which refers to a number of interrelated phenomena that arose in numerous American cities during the second half of the twentieth century. These include suburbanization, deindustrialization, depopulation, physical blight, pollution, and increases in crime, drug addiction, poverty, unemployment, and racial inequality. Much of the historiography that tries to explain the urban crisis approaches decline from an economic and statistical perspective, and focusses on long-term, large-scale developments. While this approach has been fruitful, it also creates a gap: it reveals little about cultural context and pays little attention to the agency and experience of ordinary individuals who experienced the urban crisis. In order to help fill this gap, this thesis examines documents that reflect personal experience or opinions, such as diaries, memoirs, interviews, and opinionated newspaper articles. More specifically, the thesis consists of three smaller case studies into specific aspects of St. Louis's urban crisis: residential segregation, public housing, and suburban deindustrialization. While this project does not lead to a new 'big picture' of urban crisis, it yields various new insights, which sometimes contradict the existing historiography.Show less
After the surrender of Japan following WWII, the US occupied Japan for seven years until 1952 – while remaining in Okinawa until 1972. The aim of the occupation’s administration was to demilitarise...Show moreAfter the surrender of Japan following WWII, the US occupied Japan for seven years until 1952 – while remaining in Okinawa until 1972. The aim of the occupation’s administration was to demilitarise and democratise Japan. One of the goals to achieve this aim was the decartelisation of Japan and the dissolution of the Zaibatsu. However, while the decartelisation of Japan was an early goal of the administration, the dissolution of the Zaibatsu was never fully realised. The occupation’s administration was concerned with New Deal liberalist reforms at the onset of the occupation. However, after the first two years of the occupation, the US shifted its decartelisation policy from economic reform to economic recovery in what has been dubbed as Japan’s reverse course. The origin of the reverse course has often been explained as a Cold War phenomenon. However, through archival research, this thesis shows that domestic factors such as the US domestic economic situation and the Republican victory in the 80th Congress significantly changed the course of the Zaibatsu dissolution. As such, these “intermestic” issues influenced the shift away from economic reform to economic recovery and the result of this can be seen in the Japanese economy to this day.Show less
This thesis examines and compares the ways in which Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden made use of the rhetoric of American exceptionalism in their public speeches and statements between...Show moreThis thesis examines and compares the ways in which Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden made use of the rhetoric of American exceptionalism in their public speeches and statements between 2007 and 2017. It argues that although all three politicians were members of the Democratic Party and were part of the same administration, there are significant differences in the way they used and related to the concept of American exceptionalism.Show less
A intellectual history research. How did the ideas on philanthropy and doing good in America evolve from 1650-1830? Increased individualism and secularism influenced the way in which philanthropy...Show moreA intellectual history research. How did the ideas on philanthropy and doing good in America evolve from 1650-1830? Increased individualism and secularism influenced the way in which philanthropy and doing good were viewed.Show less
This thesis examines how Mohsin Hamid's The Reluctant Fundamentalist addresses and interrogates structures of power that are present in society. It aims to show how the novel exposes and subverts...Show moreThis thesis examines how Mohsin Hamid's The Reluctant Fundamentalist addresses and interrogates structures of power that are present in society. It aims to show how the novel exposes and subverts dominant economic and cultural structures of power that are organized both through networks and hierarchies.Show less
Investigates the lives of Coretta Scott King and Betty Shabazz before, during, and after their marriage with their husbands, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Growing up in an environment...Show moreInvestigates the lives of Coretta Scott King and Betty Shabazz before, during, and after their marriage with their husbands, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Growing up in an environment characterized by social injustice, both women found their duty in challenging these injustices, although Coretta much earlier than Betty. However, both women were faced with gender norms in the 1950s and -60s which restricted them socially. After the death of their husbands, Coretta and Betty were determined to preserve the legacy of their husbands, and to build up a career for themselves, which they succeeded in.Show less
