Constructing the Past

We Will Never Speak of It: Evidence of Hitler's Direct Responsibility for the Premeditation and Implementation of the Nazi Final Solution

Kevin P. Sweeney — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:52:23 PDT

The “Intentionalist vs. Functionalist” debate has raged amongst academic historians for decades, centered on the question of whether Adolf Hitler personally premeditated and instigated the Final Solution, or whether the idea and its implementation developed more gradually out of a collaborative effort within the ranks of the Nazi bureaucracy. This paper seeks, through careful analysis of Nazi primary source materials, to establish an “Intentionalist” argument in favor of Hitler being directly responsible for the premeditation and implementation of the infamous Nazi attempt to systematically annihilate the entirety of Europe’s Jewish population.

The People's Phenomenon: "Author's Song" in Khrushchev's Soviet Union

Sarah K. Moir — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:52:21 PDT

A massive shift from the Socialist Realism that predominated under Joseph Stalin, the bard culture that arose during Nikita Khrushchev's "Thaw" was fostered by the illegal underground transmission of tapes known as “magnitizdat”. Three well-known faces, with even better known voices, led this movement: Vladimir Vysotsky, Bulat Okudzhava, and Alexander Galich. In a way that was uniquely Soviet, the bard culture took root and transformed the everyday of the Soviet people.

Independent Colonies Emerge into Flourishing Independent City-States

Daniel Betcher — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:52:18 PDT

Did Greek city-states create colonies in the ancient world in order to expand their sphere of influence? This is the focus of the article and an extremely important concept to grasp. In order to fully understand how colonies became self-sufficient, an analysis of financial, social, and militaristic values within the colonial society is necessary. Creating a distinction between colony and city-state helps to clarify why members of colonies, such as Methone, sought freedom and independence from their mother-cities.

The Fiery Cross: The Klan's Fight to Save America

Andy M. Kozlowski — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:52:15 PDT

The Fiery Cross, published monthly by the Ku Klux Klan out of its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, took it upon itself to address all of these growing issues. Through this periodical, the KKK was determined to spread its own views: opposition to the New Deal and its Communist-like programs, anti-immigration, and opposition to American involvement in the European war. In its publication, the Ku Klux Klan preached about the creation of an America for Americans only.

"Stylists of the Beautiful Life": Secession Artists and Fashion in Fin-de-Siècle Vienna

Hannah E. Johnson — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:52:12 PDT

Beginning in the 1870s, a far reaching call for reform spread across the Viennese middle class, infiltrating every field of interest from politics, to literature, eventually culminating in the 1890s in an extensive redefinition of the visual arts. From this nationwide sense of dissatisfaction toward the traditional flowed a new understanding of what was to be considered socially acceptable in the realm of art and architecture. This article attempts to not only identify the significant influence that revolutionary Viennese artists (including members of the Secession movement: Klimt, Hoffmann, and Moser, the Wiener Werkstätte, and architect Adolf Loos) had on early twentieth century fashion, but also to emphasize the distinction between mere clothing and the Viennese’s apt manipulation of fashion as art.

Blind Philhellenes vs. Selective Consumers of Foreign Cultures: A Reassessment of the Ancient Greco-Roman Literary Record’s Portrayal of the Gauls in Light of New Archaeological Evidence

Kevin P. Sweeney — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:52:09 PDT

The issue of perspective is intrinsic to historiography. This is evident in the ancient Greco-Roman literary record, specifically the limits placed on its value to modern academics by the ethnographic biases of its authors. However, with the rise of the post-processual approach to archaeology over the past thirty years, modern historians have begun to address this issue. By utilizing the impartial records offered by excavation, these scholars have increasingly managed to circumvent ancient authorial subjectivity and reevaluate the modern preconceptions it created of the world of antiquity. An example of the archaeological record's value in reassessing the inherent prejudices of the ancient literary record can be seen in the instance of the archaic-era Ionian Greek colony of Massalia. While the ancient writings on Massalia have provided modern historians with a limited overview of this Greek polis, their potential for offering genuine insight is denigrated by the cultural bias evident in their overly positive portrayal of Massalia and their pejorative treatment of the native Gauls. However, by examining archaeological excavations of Massalia and surrounding Gallic sites, modern historians have begun to sidestep this Hellenic literary bias and its associated cultural stereotypes, and gain valuable insight into the much more complex reality of relations and interactions that existed between the Massaliotes and their Gallic neighbors. Overall, although ancient historians portray Massalia as a powerful bastion of civilizing Hellenism amongst the barbarian tribes of Gaul, the modern archaeological record indicates that this characterization is largely false, and that in reality Massalia's Gallic trading partners were not Philhellenes who attempted to imitate Greek culture, but selective consumers who incorporated a limited range of Greek goods into their own existing cultural systems.

A Woman’s World: How Afternoon Tea Defined and Hindered Victorian Middle Class Women

Mary E. Heath — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:52:05 PDT

I do want to submit an abstract.

The Back of the House as Viewed from the Front of the House: Sarah Davis and the Irish Domestic Servants of Clover Lawn from 1872 to 1879

Gina C. Tangorra — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:26:10 PDT

This paper details the experience of Irish servants in late nineteenth-century Bloomington who were employed at Clover Lawn (the David Davis Mansion). The house on Clover Lawn was divided into three regions: public, private, and the servant quarters. The division between front-of-the-house, back-of-the-house is the American equivalent of the British “upstairs-downstairs” arrangement. This paper examines the connection between the design of the home and the established middle-class domestic system, the cultural and social differences between the servants and the Davis family, and the impact the Irish domestic servant population had on the growing Bloomington community, in order to gain a better overall understanding of the solidification of the middle-class.

Don’t Fear the Reaper: The Purpose of Religious Festivals in Ancient Rome

Emily A. Susina — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:26:09 PDT

This paper discusses the way the political leaders of Rome during the periods of the late Republic and early Empire used religious festivals as a way of gaining and maintaining power among the citizens.

Nikita Khrushchev, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Aftermath

Jason K. Roeschley — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:26:08 PDT

Through the use of primary and secondary sources, this essay seeks to define the role of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev during the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962, which was essential to avoiding nuclear devastation between the Soviet Union and the United States. Additionally, the essay examines the consequences of the crisis including the Sino-Soviet split, the ousting of Khrushchev, and the effects of continued Cuban-Soviet relations.

Arthur Schnitzler’s Dream Story: Fridolin’s Dream as Schnitzler’s Subconscious

Sarah K. Moir — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:26:06 PDT

Arthur Schnitzler’s short story Dream Story offers a unique insight into the subconscious of Schnitzler himself, provided through the choices of character names, and the experiences he details throughout the story. The character of Fridolin provides a stunning foil to Schnitzler’s own life. Additionally, Schnitzler serves as an emblem of the fin-de-Siècle Vienna personality: sexually liberal with a chauvinistic bent.

The Spectacle of Bloodshed in Roman Society

Lauren E. Cowles — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:26:05 PDT

We know relatively little about the role sports played in ancient history. But of all the sports portrayed during antiquity, the gladiatorial combat was one that has been the most commonly portrayed and studied. The spectacle of bloodshed in Roman society is a subject of interest that is generally only viewed in regards to gladiatorial combats. But these spectacles had a wide array of uses. For example, spectacles of death included not only gladiatorial combats but also ritualized executions and animal hunts. These spectacles of death fulfilled a variety of purposes including most predominantly entertainment, but they were also used for the forming of punishments, promoting interacts between the rulers and the ruled and providing meals for the people of Roman society.

Crime, Conspiracy and Cover-Up: Finding the Truth in the Soviet Union, the Kirov Assassination

Hannah E. Johnson — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:26:03 PDT

On December 1, 1934, Sergei Mironovich Kirov, head of the Leningrad party organization of the Soviet Union, was shot dead outside his office in the former Smolny Institute. Kirov’s murder would prove to be the catalyst that effectively launched General Secretary Joseph Stalin’s Great Purge of the Communist Party from 1936 to 1938. In this two year period hundreds of thousands of Soviet citizens were executed and millions more were sentenced to exile. Though an earthshaking start to an inexplicably dark period of Soviet history, the real intrigue in Kirov’s assassination lies in the fact that, over 75 years later, the case remains inconclusive. This paper attempts to shed light on the various theories surrounding the possible culprits involved in the Kirov assassination as well as address the potential limitations involved in ultimately achieving the notion of historical truth.

Religion and Nationhood in Late Colonial India

Chao Ren — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:26:02 PDT

This essay examines the relationship between religion and the concept of nationhood in late colonial India. Religion was a crucial element in the formation of modern states in the early 20th century in South Asia. Different religious groups had different opinions about nation: Hindus and Muslims had different ideas of nationhood; even within the Hindu tradition, the Hindus themselves had very different views of nationhood and how to organize a new nation-state in relation to their religion. This essay explores the different points of view concerning the relationship between religion and nation in both Hindu and Muslim communities which led to the Partition of 1947.

Can One Believe the Ancient Sources That Describe Messalina?

Kristen A. Hosack — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:26:00 PDT

This paper discusses the various ancient writings that discussed the empress Messalina. It ultimately concludes that the ancient authors wrote with profound biases, which discredits the accuracy of their negative accounts of her.

Mayerling Revisited: The Short Life and Death of Mary Vetsera

Chelsea Ridley — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:25:59 PDT

Amidst the dramatic background of Vienna in the 1890s, a romance quickly developed between the Crown Prince Rudolf and a young socialite, Mary Vetsera. Ultimately this romance would end in tragedy with their fateful murder suicide at Mayerling. The circumstances surrounding the Crown Prince’s death have been widely written about, but questions regarding Mary Vetsera’s motives still linger. Using the memoirs of one of Mary’s best friends and research into those last days at Mayerling, this paper outlines the pressures in Mary’s life and attempts to uncover some reasons why she would enter into a suicide pact with Prince Rudolf.

The Sorrows of the Prince Charming: The Tragic Life of Crown Prince Rudolf

Yunya Yang — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:25:57 PDT

The Crown Prince Rudolf (1858-1889) was the heir of Franz Joseph I, emperor of Austria, and his wife Elizabeth of Bavaria, the beauty of Europe. He was famous for his love affair with the then 17-year-old Baroness Mary Vetsera and their double-suicide in Mayerling. The death of the young and charming prince appalled turn-of-the-century Vienna. This paper briefly examines the life and death of the prince, which include his relationship with his family, his personal goals and pursuits, and his romantic involvement with Mary Vetsera.

The Enemy Within: Homosexuality in the Third Reich, 1933-1945

Eliot H. Boden — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:25:55 PDT

From 1933 to 1945, the Nazi regime in Germany ruthlessly targeted homosexuals, particularly men, as enemies of the state. While Nazi doctrine officially repudiated same-sex romance, actual policy toward homosexuals in the Third Reich was by no means consistent. This paper examines the components of Nazi racial doctrines and the subtle ways in which the hyper-masculine ethos of the regime in fact encouraged male bonding and homosexual behavior. The differing views of prominent Nazi leaders on the issue of homosexuality are also discussed. The paper concludes by comparing the punishment of homosexual behavior among German soldiers in the Schutzstaffel (SS), and homosexuals unaffiliated with the Nazi party.

The Search for Perfection: Lake Forest and the Progressive Era

Caitlin G. Carr — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:25:54 PDT

Lake Forest, Illinois in the Progressive Era was a highly exclusive safe haven for the elite of Chicago. Lake Forest, however, was more than a high priced suburb for successful businessmen and the children of entrepreneurs; it was a community where wealthy individuals would attempt to create the perfect environment. This paper will explore how the residents attempted to create a perfect community, from the European culture they chose to imitate to the architecture they chose for their estates, as well as the social world they created for themselves.

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:25:53 PDT

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