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
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
Over the past few years transgender rights have become increasingly mainstream, and issues affecting transgender people have frequently made headlines. When considering these issues, transgender is...Show moreOver the past few years transgender rights have become increasingly mainstream, and issues affecting transgender people have frequently made headlines. When considering these issues, transgender is often placed within the greater scope of LGBT rights. However, only fairly recently has the LGB community embraced the T. This research will look at the history of transgender activism, and how the sectional nature of homosexual men and lesbian women excluded the intersectionality of transgender people. This thesis will consider the relationship between these factions in activism, in medical terms and in social terms. It will further come to show that the history of transgender activism is a struggle that is still alive today.Show less
This thesis argues that Theodore Roosevelt, as the head of the Progressive Party, attempted to lead the party to victory through the years 1912 to 1916, but ultimately failed due to his personal...Show moreThis thesis argues that Theodore Roosevelt, as the head of the Progressive Party, attempted to lead the party to victory through the years 1912 to 1916, but ultimately failed due to his personal struggles affecting his political strength.Show less
This thesis examines the cultural Broadway phenomenon; Hamilton: An American Musical. Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical is lauded and critiqued for rewriting the history upon which it is based, creating...Show moreThis thesis examines the cultural Broadway phenomenon; Hamilton: An American Musical. Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical is lauded and critiqued for rewriting the history upon which it is based, creating a new foundation myth that is "America then, told by America now". Through a thorough examination of the source material that the musical is based upon, and its songs, this thesis aims to examine how the show defies the tradition of Founders Chic mythology and yet is a Founders Chic product at the same time.Show less
This thesis focuses on Roosevelt's role in the anti-lynching debate during the 1930s. The role of Walter White and Mary McLeod Bethune are taken into consideration. The differences between them are...Show moreThis thesis focuses on Roosevelt's role in the anti-lynching debate during the 1930s. The role of Walter White and Mary McLeod Bethune are taken into consideration. The differences between them are highlighted and compared to each other. They provide for an interesting case study.Show less
This thesis analyzes how the Republican Party profited from the actions of Senator Joe McCarthy, looking at the 1950s' senatorial elections and party politics of the same year. It argues that he...Show moreThis thesis analyzes how the Republican Party profited from the actions of Senator Joe McCarthy, looking at the 1950s' senatorial elections and party politics of the same year. It argues that he was a Faustian bargain the party accepted because they could profit from him. In addition, the thesis provides the reader with an account of the anticommunist tradition before McCarthy. Furthermore, the thesis criticizes the role of the media in sustaining the power of McCarthy, and looks at how McCarthy manipulated and used the press as his weapon to spread the anticommunist sentiment. Finally, the thesis draws lines between the Trump era and the McCarthy era.Show less
This thesis analyzes song lyrics by Nina Simone, James Brown, and Public Enemy, and questions how they are radical in the context of the diachronic development of black civil rights activism. It...Show moreThis thesis analyzes song lyrics by Nina Simone, James Brown, and Public Enemy, and questions how they are radical in the context of the diachronic development of black civil rights activism. It straddles both very broad context and detailed analysis.Show less
This thesis examines the figures of the American Adam and American Eve, exploring how the American Eve can still be considered a problematic figure, despite being created by feminist critics to...Show moreThis thesis examines the figures of the American Adam and American Eve, exploring how the American Eve can still be considered a problematic figure, despite being created by feminist critics to free female characters in American literature. It specifically analyses two twentieth-century American novels, Jeffrey Eugenides' The Virgin Suicides and Marilynne Robinson's Housekeeping, and how the female characters in these novels are subversive figures, embodying a more flexible version of American femininity.Show less
According to religious trends, involvement of Americans with (organized) religion is declining: Americans are slowly moving away from religion. This development can predominantly be ascribed to the...Show moreAccording to religious trends, involvement of Americans with (organized) religion is declining: Americans are slowly moving away from religion. This development can predominantly be ascribed to the younger generations who no longer adhere to the strong religious American values of their parents and grandparents. Research has shown that a drop in religiously affiliated Americans correlates with a rise in atheism.As a result, the rise of New Atheism in the years between 2006 and 2010 is an intriguing topic. Its success can be attributed to the active promotion of the new movement by a few intellectuals, the Four Horsemen, with Hitchens prominently among them. Several factors can be invoked to explain the rise and success of the movement.An upsurge in New Atheist writings has created a new interest in the nature of religion. It has sparked a new debate about not only the existence of God, but also religion’s place within American society.Show less
This thesis analyzes how The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal explained the loss of Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic primaries. This thesis argues that...Show moreThis thesis analyzes how The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal explained the loss of Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic primaries. This thesis argues that conservative and liberal media focus on different explanations for Sanders’s loss and that through the style of media reporting several important factors in the Bernie Sanders’s primary defeat, such as the influence of the invisible primary, were not sufficiently explored. Through the media’s “horse race” reporting style, which solely focuses on which candidate is ahead and which candidate is lagging behind, no attention was paid to what happened before the actual primaries and caucuses began. This thesis states, first, that there were no significant differences in how the analyzed newspapers explained Sanders’s loss, second, that the invisible primary was overlooked by the three analyzed media outlets and, third, that the invisible primary played a key role in Sanders’s loss.Show less
Using Okinawa as a case study, this thesis focuses on how U.S. military bases have spread American culture and values in East Asia during and after the Cold War. Due to how the U.S. military...Show moreUsing Okinawa as a case study, this thesis focuses on how U.S. military bases have spread American culture and values in East Asia during and after the Cold War. Due to how the U.S. military institution forms the context within which cultural transfer takes place between the host community and the military community, the main question posed is whether or not (American) culture may in this case be depoliticised.Show less
Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan (R) quickly rose within the ranks of the GOP as a vehemently conservative thinker. After the rise of the Tea Party, Ryan was marked as one of the new movement's...Show moreWisconsin Representative Paul Ryan (R) quickly rose within the ranks of the GOP as a vehemently conservative thinker. After the rise of the Tea Party, Ryan was marked as one of the new movement's political leaders and during the 2012 election became the GOP nominee for Vice-President. After the failed 2012 election, his relationship with the GOP's conservative base began to shift. Through the political career of Paul Ryan, this thesis explores the relationship between the GOP leadership and the Party's most conservative base.Show less
Fossil fuel industry giants in the United States like ExxonMobil sponsor contrarian science to distort the public image of the (virtually non-existing) debate on whether anthropogenic global...Show moreFossil fuel industry giants in the United States like ExxonMobil sponsor contrarian science to distort the public image of the (virtually non-existing) debate on whether anthropogenic global warming exists. The efforts of this so-called ―Denial Machine‖ seem to bear fruit: despite scientific consensus, Americans remain divided on the issue of anthropogenic climate change. Liberal Democrats are more likely to follow the consensus view (79% believes the planet is warming mostly due to human activity), whereas only 15% of the Conservative Republicans supposes this to be the case. Dunlap and McCright argue that conservative media outlets function as an echo chamber for the contrarian voices of this Denial Machine. Liisa Antilla argues that the conservative media is not the only side responsible for this echoing—in their quest for ―journalistic balance,‖ mainstream and progressive news outlets (including the New York Times) have also presented contrarian voices as ―experts‖ in the past. With these insights in mind, this study maps the climate change discourses and source-use of two opposing poles in the U.S. media landscape in the months prior to Trump‘s election: the New York Times on the Liberal Democrat side; news weblog Breitbart on the Conservative Republican side. The results show that these opposing poles conduct their climate change reporting on completely different levels: while the conservative Breitbart seems stuck in denial, hence condemned to the debate-level, the liberal Times has passed this level by accepting consensus and focusing its reporting on the consequences of climate change. In addition, this study also concludes that the Times no longer functions as an echo chamber for contrarian voices for the sake of journalistic balance, while Breitbart, by giving pseudo scientists space to directly publish on their platform regularly, not only functions as echo chamber, but also as the vocal cords of contrarian voices.Show less
The American slavery debate, raging from the early nineteenth century up until the Civil War, almost destroyed the Union through its increasing political, economical and social anxiety. Southerners...Show moreThe American slavery debate, raging from the early nineteenth century up until the Civil War, almost destroyed the Union through its increasing political, economical and social anxiety. Southerners argued against any federal interference of their institution of slavery and abolitionists, especially those who were more radical, vehemently opposed any continuation of the institution. In this tumult, several writers took up the pen to argue against or specifically in favor of slavery, which they did in sentimental novels intended to sway their readers. I argue that each of the authors of the works discussed in this thesis reframe the African American plight in order to portray what the authors feel is the idealized version of African Americans, regardless of whether it had any bearing on reality. In this way, white superiority remained intact. Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, while advocating for the abolition of slavery, treats her enslaved characters as childlike and simplistic. Eastman’s Aunt Phillis’s Cabin portrays her enslaved characters as utterly devotional to the white families they work for, going even as far as to argue for removing their own autonomy so to better serve their masters. And Page’s In Ole Virginia, written during the post-Reconstruction period, portrays free African Americans as witnesses to the better times experienced while in servitude.Show less
