History

Witches and Bawds as Elderly Women in England, 1680-1730

Type:
Names:
Creator (cre): McMorrow, Erin, Thesis advisor (ths): Hurl-Eamon, Jennine, Degree committee member (dgc): Siena, Kevin, Degree committee member (dgc): Harris-Stoertz, Fiona, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University
Abstract:

Many print sources from 1680 to 1730 depicted bawds and witches as figures of transgressive elderly femininity. They were often described as having roughly the same anti-social behaviour, age, and gender. Both witches and bawds were seen as seducing innocents into a life of sin, associating with the

devil, and acting lustful and unmotherly. Furthermore, they were connected with Catholicism and were thought to unite sinners against English Protestant society. The physical descriptions of the witch and procuress also bore significant patterns in presenting deformity, disfigurement, smelliness, rottenness, and death, traits generally connected with elderly women. Though historians have recognized the tendency of the witch or bawd to be characterized as an old woman, none have conducted a systematic comparison of the two stereotypes. Such an analysis can offer insight about the social anxieties around aging femininity in this period.

Author Keywords: bawd, cheap print, elderly women, old age, witch, witchcraft

2016

Religion, Wilberforce's Evangelicalism, and the Memoirs of Common British Soldiers, 1811-1863

Type:
Names:
Creator (cre): Sadlier, Ginevra, Thesis advisor (ths): Hurl-Eamon, Jennine, Degree committee member (dgc): Eamon, Michael, Degree committee member (dgc): Nguyen-Marshall, Van, Degree committee member (dgc): Hindmarsh, Bruce, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University
Abstract:

This thesis examines low-ranking British soldiers' memoirs in the nineteenth century to determine the extent to which they identified with Christianity and how their expressions of faith differed from each other. Using twelve narratives published between 1811–1863, it finds that all of these soldiers identified themselves with Protestant Christianity and, more importantly, considered irreligion an evil which could not be justified by any decent British citizen. Furthermore, it argues that soldiers' identity construction was largely determined by the degree of depth of their religious understanding. It uses the work of William Wilberforce to contextualize these soldiers' expressions of faith and demonstrates how military writing can be more fully understood as representing a spectrum between nominal Christianity and real or true Christianity. This project strives to demonstrate that the religiosity of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain has a significant impact upon our understanding of their time.

Author Keywords: Britain, Christianity, memoirs, Military, soldiers, William Wilberforce

2021

The Paper Chase: A Survey Of Student Newspapers On Three Ontario Campuses In The 1960s

Type:
Names:
Creator (cre): Smith, Joshua Terrance, Thesis advisor (ths): Anastakis, Dimitry, Degree committee member (dgc): Durand, Caroline, Degree committee member (dgc): Sangster, Joan, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University
Abstract:

"The Paper Chase: A Survey of Student Newspapers on Ontario Campuses in the 1960s" is a regional study of three University campuses in Ontario — the University of Toronto, Queen's University and Trent University — and examines each of these institutions' respective student newspapers, The Varsity, The Queen's Journal, and The Arthur as a primary source analysis. In broader terms, this thesis looks to theoretically historicize the themes of "life," "love," and "liberty" on Ontario campuses in the 1960s. Its central question is whether Ontario's youth experienced a cultural revolution like that portrayed in popular memory of the period, which profoundly appears in other sixties cultural interpretations in Canada and the United States. By framing student life through student newspapers' gamut, this thesis calls into question the lionization of some cultural decade elements. It determines students were, in fact, in some ways much more conservative in their outlook than earlier literature or the popular memory of the period suggests. History has much to say about students who rebelled. This thesis focuses on those who did not.

Author Keywords: Conservatism, Counterculture, Queen's University, Sixties, Trent University, University of Toronto

2021

EMPIRE AND ITS PRACTITIONERS: HEALTH, DEVELOPMENT, AND THE U.S. OCCUPATION OF HAITI, 1915-1934

Type:
Names:
Creator (cre): Davidson, Matthew, Thesis advisor (ths): Sheinin, David, Degree committee member (dgc): Dunaway, Finis, Degree committee member (dgc): Wright, Robert, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University
Abstract:

In 1915 U.S. Marines invaded Haiti. Driven first by the epidemiological dangers in Haiti, health and medicine was made a central tenet in administering the occupation. Useful for protecting the American Marines from disease, the Service d'Hygiene (the occupation-era Public Health Service) also served a hegemonic purpose. By bringing American biomedicine to sick Haitians, the Service d'Hygiene built support for the occupation and helped foster long-term connections between Haiti and the United States. This hegemonic drive was made possible by the incorporation of non-state actors into the colonial project. To achieve this, the American authorities forged a development strategy for Haiti that was premised upon a relationship between the state and private institutions such as the Rockefeller Foundation. This strategy also encouraged Haiti to look to the United States for support, a goal successfully realized when Haitian politicians continued to do so even after the Marines left Haiti in 1934.

Author Keywords: Haiti, Hegemony, Imperialism, Public Health, Rockefeller Foundation, Service d'Hygiene

2014

Cooperation and Conflict: Christian and Muslim Group Identity and Accommodation between the Second and Third Crusades, 1145-1192

Type:
Names:
Creator (cre): Ensing, Leah, Thesis advisor (ths): Harris-Stoertz, Fiona, Degree committee member (dgc): Boulby, Marion, Degree committee member (dgc): Elbl, Ivana, Degree committee member (dgc): Gerish, Deborah, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University
Abstract:

This study examines interaction and accommodation between Western Christians and Muslims in the Levant between the Second and Third Crusades, 1145 to 1192, examining three groups: short term crusaders, members of military orders, and permanent settlers. While members of these groups possessed several personal and group identities, most shared a prescriptive religious identity that encouraged a common goal: holy war for the protection of the Holy Land from Muslims, whom they identified as a distinct, enemy `other.' Despite these prescriptive beliefs, when Christians came into contact with Muslims, particularly following longer and more varied contact, most engaged in some convergent accommodation, such as diplomatic accommodation, development of shared languages and gestures, or admiration for chivalric qualities. Those settled in the Levant accepted the existing economic and social structures, assuming the roles of previous elites, adopting certain local customs, sharing sacred spaces, medical knowledge, or even developing personal ties with Muslims.

Author Keywords: Accommodation, Christianity, Crusades, Identity, Islam

2014

That They Might Sing the Song of the Lamb: The Spiritual Value of Singing the Liturgy for Hildegard of Bingen

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Names:
Creator (cre): Clemens, Miranda, Thesis advisor (ths): Harris- Stoertz, Fiona, Degree committee member (dgc): Boynton, Susan, Degree committee member (dgc): Elbl, Ivana, Degree committee member (dgc): Siena, Kevin, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University
Abstract:

This thesis examines Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179)'s theology of music, using as a starting place her letter to the Prelates of Mainz, which responds to an interdict prohibiting Hildegard's monastery from singing the liturgy. Using the twelfth-century context of female monasticism, liturgy, music theory and ideas about body and soul, the thesis argues that Hildegard considered the sung liturgy essential to monastic formation. Music provided instruction not only by informing the intellect but also by moving the affections to embrace a spiritual good. The experience of beauty as an educational tool reflected the doctrine of the Incarnation. Liturgical music helped nuns because it reminded them their final goal was heaven, helped them overcome sin and facilitated participation in the angelic choirs. Ultimately losing the ability to sing the liturgy was not a minor inconvenience, but the loss of a significant spiritual and educational tool fundamental to achieving union with God.

Author Keywords: Hildegard of Bingen, Letter to the Prelates of Mainz, liturgy, monasticism, music

2014

The Question of Culture in the Socio-Economic Violence & Abuse Against Women in Zambia: 1980s-1990s

Type:
Names:
Creator (cre): Puso, Kagiso, Thesis advisor (ths): Stapleton, Timothy, Degree committee member (dgc): Boulby, Marion, Degree committee member (dgc): Marshall, Van-Nguyen, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University
Abstract:

This thesis presents an assessment of the role of culture in the political marginalization and the socio-economic violence and abuse against women in Zambia. It also explores other contributing factors such as the country's economic crisis of the 1970s, and its colonial legacy, especially in as far as these factors related to the status of women and contributed to the issue of violence and abuse against them. The study utilized primary sources in the form of newspaper articles from the year 1980 to the mid-1990s, to make conclusions for its findings. While previous scholarship emphasized that the violent abuse of women in the country was prevalent because of the highly patriarchal attitudes of the society, this thesis seeks to suggest that the context of violence, abuse and the political marginalization of Zambian women was shaped by an intersection of various elements some of which were not necessarily patriarchal by nature. Furthermore, the thesis explores women's agency in this issue to show that patriarchal systems are not as fixed and uncontested as has been assumed to be the case.

Author Keywords: Abuse, Culture, Political Marginalization, Tradition, Violence, Zambia

2014

Beyond Paris: Jacqueline Kennedy and the Presidency

Type:
Names:
Creator (cre): Priest, Allen George, Thesis advisor (ths): Sheinin, David, Degree committee member (dgc): Dunaway, Finis, Degree committee member (dgc): Durand, Caroline, Degree committee member (dgc): Kay, Carolyn, Degree committee member (dgc): Pruessen, Ronald, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University
Abstract:

A presidential spouse in an era of rigid gender norms, Jacqueline Kennedy frequently straddled the divide between celebrity, social acceptability, and personal desire. Yet, history remembers America's thirty-seventh First Lady more for her fashion and soft-spoken nature. Forgotten is that she was a `transitional' figure, who oversaw America's largest restoration of the White House and served as a `goodwill ambassador' for her husband. When three gunshots brought their tenure to an abrupt end, Jackie's focus shifted and she fixated on the creation of a legacy that immortalized JFK. `Camelot,' is a construct almost exclusively conceived and executed by the former First Lady. In this vein, the coming exploration delves into the private actions of Jackie during her time in as First Lady, contrasting them sharply with her public image. What emerges is a portrait the world seldom saw: one driven by raw intellect and a desire to be of service to her husband and country.

Author Keywords: Camelot, First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Restoration, White House

2014

Class Struggle and Solidarity in Neo-Liberal Times: The 1986 Gainers Strike

Type:
Names:
Creator (cre): Samoil, Andrea, Thesis advisor (ths): Palmer, Bryan, Degree committee member (dgc): Anastakis, Dimitry, Degree committee member (dgc): Dunaway, Finis, Degree committee member (dgc): Finkel, Alvin, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University
Abstract:

The lengthy and raucous 1986 Gainers meatpacking plant strike in Edmonton, Alberta was one of the most important events in recent Alberta labour history. In the midst of the economic crisis of the 1980s and the rise of neo-liberal ideas, the strike marked a backlash by both the labour movement and ordinary citizens against attacks on workers and unions. Characterized by widely covered picket line violence, repressive police and court actions, and government unresponsiveness, the strike generated massive solidarity within and beyond the labour movement. This solidarity originated in a rejection of the neo-liberal new reality of Alberta typified by high unemployment, anti-union laws and practices, and lack of government welfare support, and it generated a provincial change the law campaign, national boycott, and rising class consciousness. The working class mobilization during the Gainers strike was a watershed for the Alberta labour movement.

Author Keywords: Alberta Federation of Labour, Gainers strike, neo-liberalism, solidarity, working class

2014

The Elite Canadian Print Media Construction of the Cuban Revolution, 1956-1962

Type:
Names:
Creator (cre): Rowley, Andrew Jameson, Thesis advisor (ths): Wright, Robert A., Degree committee member (dgc): Sheinin, David, Degree committee member (dgc): Struthers, James, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University
Abstract:

This study examines the elite national print media reaction to, and coverage of, the Cuban Revolution, between 1956 and 1962. It finds that media, equally alienated by both Fidel Castro and the United States, progressively pursued an independent narrative predicated on an homage to Cuban sovereignty. Specifically, media uniformly adopted veteran New York Times' reporter Herbert L. Matthews' conflation between Cuban postcolonial independence and the Revolution following his exclusive interview with Fidel Castro in February 1957. Media maintained it until 1962 as it remained the only consistent, defensible theme amid Castro's apparent failure to meet expectations and the United States' cautious indifference to a revolution in kind and abject disregard for Cuban sovereignty. Research is based on an exhaustive review of eleven carefully selected elite broadsheets and three national magazines. Overall, this study offers an important counterpoint to the broader body of Canada-Cuba-U.S. postwar historiography that almost exclusively addresses foreign policy.

Author Keywords: Canada-Cuba-U.S. relations, Canadian print media, Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, Herbert L. Matthews, journalism

2015