This thesis researches the actions and motivations of the School of the Americas Watch (SOAW), a human rights organization that protests the existence of the U.S. Army institution the School of the...Show moreThis thesis researches the actions and motivations of the School of the Americas Watch (SOAW), a human rights organization that protests the existence of the U.S. Army institution the School of the Americas (SOA), from 1990 until 2001 in the context of human rights scholarship on the 1970s and the 1980s. The SOAW believed the U.S. was directly culpable in the human rights violations committed by graduates of the SOA. The SOAW’s definition of human rights was that of bodily integrity. The SOAW was successful in lobbying Congress to such an extent that the SOA closed in December 2000, however a replacement institute opened just a month later.Show less
When Jimmy Carter was inaugurated in 1977, he promised to make his commitment to human rights absolute. The deeply torn and racially divided region of Southern Africa would become his...Show moreWhen Jimmy Carter was inaugurated in 1977, he promised to make his commitment to human rights absolute. The deeply torn and racially divided region of Southern Africa would become his administration’s stage to illustrate their moralistic foreign policy which was based on the promotion of human rights. Whereas Carter’s commitment to human rights was motivated by his personal experiences during the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, his National Security Advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski, was led by strategic considerations which could advance the American position in the Cold War. These conflicting approaches to a human rights policy resulted in a vague, often hypocritical, and quickly shifting policy, which started with a strong moral undertone and focus on human rights, yet ended with economic and strategic considerations as the top priorities of the administration. Through its in-depth analysis of primary sources, this study has sought to research the change in the Carter administration’s human rights policy towards South Africa, thereby also discussing the general changes within the foundations of the administration’s foreign policy.Show less
This thesis argues that practice of presenting gifts to the UN by member states constitutes a vital part of the diplomatic discourse at the UN, as the gifts contribute – positively or negatively –...Show moreThis thesis argues that practice of presenting gifts to the UN by member states constitutes a vital part of the diplomatic discourse at the UN, as the gifts contribute – positively or negatively – to social solidarity by reflecting on the identity of the UN and the gift-giving motives related to instrumentality and power. This argument is substantiated by drawing on Komter’s (2009) theoretical framework, by drawing on Lister and Wells’ (2004) cultural studies approach to visual culture and by the analysis of an American gift, Canadian gift, and Soviet gift. The main findings of the analysis of the historical context, the context of viewing, the context of production and distribution and the material, cultural and social properties of the gift indicate that the gifts donated to the UN contribute to social solidarity irrespective of the political or cultural dispositions of the donating member-state based on the three aforementioned aspects. Nonetheless, the gifts do emphasize different aspects based on the self-interest of the donor.Show less
This thesis focuses on Native Americans who voluntary enlisted end served in the European and African theaters of operations only. The Pacific theater of operations has received much more attention...Show moreThis thesis focuses on Native Americans who voluntary enlisted end served in the European and African theaters of operations only. The Pacific theater of operations has received much more attention than the other two because of the well documented service of the Code Talker Units, and will therefore not be included in this thesis. Holm, Bernstein, Franco, Townsend, and Sheffield and Riseman all examined motives behind the Native American voluntary enlistment, some more thorough than others. They also analyze whether Native Americans experienced racial prejudice or discrimination. This thesis adds and examines two other motives behind Native American voluntary enlistment, and incorporates them within the existing narrative. Incorporating those two new motives behind Native American voluntary enlistment in the existing narrative provides for a more comprehensive account than is known today. This thesis further and more thoroughly analyzes to what extent Native Americans experienced racial prejudice or discrimination, and therefore may depict a more detailed picture than heretofore known in the existing narrative.Show less
African Americans are in a continuous struggle for equality in America. The reparations debate, in which African Americans are searching for reparations for slavery and segregation that followed,...Show moreAfrican Americans are in a continuous struggle for equality in America. The reparations debate, in which African Americans are searching for reparations for slavery and segregation that followed, may help create an equal society. In June 2019 the H.R.40 Bill was presented to Congress. This Bill advocates for a commission which will study the repercussions of slavery for African Americans and propose a suitable solution, in short the Bill is a blueprint for how to execute reparations. This thesis researched the historic reparations and the recent reparation debate. More specifically, this thesis aimed to answer the following question: “In what ways is the historical reparations debate incorporated in the current debate on reparations for African Americans searching for justice, and what does that mean for the significance of the current debate?” Based on the already existing historiography, this thesis took a qualitative research approach and draws upon primary and secondary sources to see how the historic debate has influenced the recent debate. Analysis of the primary sources showed that the historic debate is very much incorporated in the recent reparations debate. Furthermore, the reparations movement has never been stronger in its goal to create an equal society. However, the current reparations movement still left some questions unanswered such as who exactly would receive reparations, and who will pay for them.Show less
The focus in Afrofuturist scholarship has always been on the ways in which the black experience, particularly the forcible dislocation of the Middle Passage, has been akin to sensations of...Show moreThe focus in Afrofuturist scholarship has always been on the ways in which the black experience, particularly the forcible dislocation of the Middle Passage, has been akin to sensations of alienation and “Othering” explored in science fiction and speculative fiction. While a range of technologies have been analyzed in the context of Afrofuturism, from sonic, to digital, to even aerospace technologies, I argue in this thesis that there is a gap in scholarship on the medical technologies that undergird the alienation experienced by African Americans. To fill this gap, my research focuses on two works of fiction, Ralph Ellison’s classic novel Invisible Man (1952) and Jordan Peele’s recent movie Get Out (2017), that deal with the oppressive power of medicine. I argue that in both narratives medical experiments are used to take control over black bodies and minds, and I position this political violence into a history of medical experimentation and abuse on African Americans as well as Afrofuturism. As much as the medical mistreatment that the protagonists in these texts suffer seems exclusive to the world of science fiction, it has been, and might continue to be, part of the real experience of black Americans.Show less
The contributions of female members are an important and understudied aspect of the Black Panther Party. Survival Programs, the Panthers’ community service programs which were governed mostly by...Show moreThe contributions of female members are an important and understudied aspect of the Black Panther Party. Survival Programs, the Panthers’ community service programs which were governed mostly by women, are a good example of nonviolent techniques carried out by the Panthers to reach some of the goals on their Ten-Point Program Since the Black Panther Party consisted of mostly women for most of its existence, this indicates a difference between the common image of the Black Panther Party and the reality of it. Therefore, this thesis will answer the question “In what ways did female members defy the stereotypical image of the Black Panther Party?” In short, it will argue that not only is the significance of the nonviolent Survival Programs undervalued in the party’s popular image; so is the significance and even the existence of (other forms of) female involvement and crucial contributions to the Black Panther Party. Indeed, although the violent, male contributions to the movement are more known, the nonviolent techniques mostly executed by female members, such as the Survival Programs, take up a larger part of what the Party truly was. This thesis will pay attention to these lesser known acts committed by the Black Panthers.Show less
When the United States was formed, the division between the North and South on the basis of slavery was not as evident as it would later become. Virginia, as a Southern state, did experience a...Show moreWhen the United States was formed, the division between the North and South on the basis of slavery was not as evident as it would later become. Virginia, as a Southern state, did experience a moment where slavery was questioned. This questioning mounted in the 1782 Virginia Manumission Law. This thesis investigates how Virginia dealt with the question of slavery in the Revolutionary Era.Show less
