Honors Theses, Ohio Dominican University, 2023, Honors Theses

American Catholics were once a voting block which favored the Democratic party. However, Catholics now vote nearly the same as the general population, a contradiction when compared to other Christian denominations in the United States. This essay works to explore the political, historical, and theological elements of this division which caused the Church to fracture in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Philosophically, the core political ideals of the Catholic Church and the modern United States stand in stark contrast with one another. Presently, the foundational political theory of the United States as formulated by John Locke has become warped into a sort of hyper-individualism. This hyper-individualism emphasizes a personalization of moral truths, and thus stands against the natural law theory of the Church developed from the works of St. Thomas Aquinas. This hyper-individualism would eventually seep into the American Catholic Church, and events throughout the twentieth century would work to further this permeation. Historical events such as the Americanism controversy, the Second Vatican Council, the election of John F. Kennedy, the widespread rejection of Humanae Vitae, and the political actions before and after Roe v. Wade, would work to further divide the Church. Finally, the essay concludes with an examination of various topics prevalent in American political discourse and determines how a Catholic could respond to those issues while remaining faithful to the teachings of the Church. This examination includes consideration of teachings from the Magisterium and determines the level of authority each teaching has by utilizing the concluding paragraphs of the Profession of Faith. The conclusions of this examination show that many politicians who claim to be Catholic take up positions contrary to the faith and risk placing themselves outside of full communion with the Catholic Church. Finally, this essay raises the question as to whether American Cathol (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ronald Carstens PhD (Advisor); Matthew Ponesse PhD (Committee Member); Leo Madden S.T.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; Political Science; Religious History; Theology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2022, History

This dissertation examines the careers of African American members of Congress from the election of Oscar DePriest, the first African American elected in the 20th Century in 1928, through the early years of the Congressional Black Caucus in 1973. It examines the interactions with and contributions of Black members of Congress to the broader Civil Rights and Black Power movements during this period and their relationship with electoral politics. It shows how Black members both played fundamental roles in passing major pieces of Civil Rights legislation during this period and how without their work and input these laws would have been weaker. Simultaneously, it shows how the demands and realities of electoral politics constrained the scope of Black members' legislative efforts, but also how these members actively took steps to advance partisan political goals at the expense of activists because they believed that their work was the best and sometimes only legitimate form of Black activism. Building upon scholarship in both history and Political Science, it contributes to our understanding of the scope of Black political power in the United States prior to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the impact it had. Simultaneously, it compliments the literature on the Civil Rights and Black Power eras that focus on grassroots movements as the main agents of change by showing how the connections between many Black activists and Black Congressmen helped passed landmark legislation like the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but also how Black members came to distance themselves from those activists as they failed to monopolize Black political action around themselves to the detriment of both their own political agenda and that of activists.

Committee: David Stebenne (Advisor); Bart Elmore (Committee Member); Hasan Jeffries (Committee Member) Subjects: African American Studies; African Americans; American History; History; Political Science

Bachelor of Arts, Wittenberg University, 2020, Political Science

Despite the scientific consensus that climate change is occurring, denial of this reality has persisted in the United States. While there are many possible explanations for this skepticism, one potential cause that has yet to be explored in detail is fear and its destabilizing influence on individuals' decision making processes. Prompted by concerns that addressing climate change will harm the economy, question free market ideology, and threaten the American way of life, it is argued in this paper that the emotional experiences prompted by these sources of fear can lead individuals to deny climate change. To test this hypothesis, National Election Studies survey data was used to gauge the covariation between climate denial and a variety of potential measures of fear. The results of these analyses demonstrate that both free market ideology and a desire to protect one's sense of American identity are associated with climate change denial, suggesting that these sources of fear must first be addressed in order to effectively communicate the risks of climate change to the American public.

Committee: Staci Rhine (Advisor); James Allan (Committee Member); Sarah Fortner (Committee Member) Subjects: American Studies; Climate Change; Political Science; Psychology; Public Policy

Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Dayton, 2020, Theological Studies

The objective of this thesis is to outline the path of the American Church's current polarization. Those represented by Father James Martin are not as engaged in the Traditional aspects of the Church, which loses credibility among those on the other side. On the other hand, those represented by R.R. Reno have embraced Tradition, but have the risk of falling into extremism that ignores Catholic Social Teaching as it is most widely interpreted. At the same time these sides are disputing, young adults are leaving the Church altogether at a drastic rate, which might make all this scholarship for naught. Through examining these sides from the viewpoint of migration into the United States, a common thread emerges that will bring the two sides together rather than further cleave them apart. However, as the American political stage shows in our current times, there appears to be no simple solution.

Committee: William Portier (Advisor); Timothy Gabrielli (Other); Angela Ann Zukowski (Other) Subjects: American History; American Studies; Ethics; History; Political Science; Religion; Religious Congregations; Religious History; Social Structure; Theology

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2020, History

Previous scholarship on Puerto Rican power in their imperial relationship with the United States has argued that Puerto Ricans lacked political power and were generally excluded from meaningful roles within the territory's government during the first two decades of 20th century. This position is an inaccurate assessment of political life in Puerto Rico. While the successive administrations from McKinley to Taft did engage in a program of "political education" that mandated a great deal of mainlander control over the government, Puerto Ricans held power in both official and unofficial capacities and exercised influence in the government. This power structure shifted during the Wilson Administration as Puerto Ricans took advantage of powers that were delegated from Washington to assert their position in the territorial government and to challenge mainlander officials. This thesis shows that, contrary to existing scholarship, Puerto Ricans wielded a potent degree of influence and power in their government between 1898 and 1923.

Committee: Amanda McVety PhD (Advisor); Andrew Offenburger PhD (Committee Member); Jose Amador PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; History

BA, Oberlin College, 2018, Politics

In the United States, the news media is commonly referred to as the “fourth estate” because we rely on it to fulfill a variety of functions essential to a healthy democracy. We trust the media to, among other things, tell us what is going on in the world, contextualize and provide historical background on current events, filter politicians' spin, fact-check, be a “watchdog,” promote robust civil discourse, and enable understanding of complex issues.Up until the last decade or so, the media could meet this “standard” without sacrificing its financial well-being. The internet and the smartphone, however, changed everything. The web has transformed how America – and the world – gets its news. Caught up in their old ways and slow to respond to a rapidly changing world, media outlets saw their revenues plummet. Many news organizations laid off staff and others went out of business. Today the media is still struggling to adapt. These problems were caused by, among many factors, a proliferation in the number of news choices, a decrease in subscriptions, and major losses in advertisement revenue. The digital age has ushered in a depressing paradox for news organizations: Americans are consuming more news than ever before, but news companies are struggling to stay in business.While some news organizations have folded, others have tried to evolve with the rapidly changing landscape. Still, no newspaper has discovered the perfect formula for turning a profit in the digital age. On January 1, 2018, when Arthur Gregg Sulzberger replaced his father, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, as publisher of the New York Times, he penned a letter to his readers in which he said, “The business model that long supported the hard and expensive work of original reporting is eroding, forcing news organizations of all shapes and sizes to cut their reporting staffs and scale back their ambitions.”A healthy democracy needs a robust press. This thesis seeks to explain the ways in which newspapers can remain (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Michael D. Parkin (Advisor); Jenny Garcia (Advisor); Ferdinand Protzman (Advisor) Subjects: Journalism; Political Science

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2011, EDU Policy and Leadership

This study assesses the historical and educational implications of a ‘griotic' methodology that was employed by free African Americans in the antebellum North. This griotic methodology involved a textual production of history by and for African Americans that was derived from a West African oral/performance basis of history. The study therefore examines how a distinctive approach of history production developed among free African Americans from the late 1700s through the 1830s as they appropriated, engaged and/or countered prevailing European American discourses. Most important to the study is how these early intellectuals sought to vindicate, historicize and liberate themselves through re-presenting the idea of ‘Africa' as the metaphorical source and destiny of their race. Educational implications of this griotic methodology are subsequently highlighted in the study as it is applied as pedagogy in a post-secondary classroom to empower African African students. In order to establish an endogenous prism through which to examine this distinctive African American methodology, this study integrates a number of qualitative and historiographical components: an intellectual autobiography of the author who is an African American male educator; oral histories of African and African American history professors; and assessments of recent African American scholarship that focus on early African identity politics in the Americas. From these analyses, the author delineates and employs a ‘griotic' framework that involves a dialogue between the present and past, to chart how a West African oral/performance basis of history ascended into the textual productions of Olaudah Equiano, John Marrant, Peter Williams Jr., William Hamilton, Jacob Oson, David Walker and Maria Stewart. The historical usage of this ‘griotic' methodology is then emphasized within these works as a liberatory praxis by which early free Africans empowered their identity politics. While this African American appr (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Antoinette Errante Ph.D. (Advisor); Leslie Alexander Ph.D. (Committee Member); Ousman Kobo Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: African American Studies; African Americans; African History; African Studies; Black History; Black Studies; Education; Education History; Education Philosophy; Education Policy; Ethnic Studies; History; Multicultural Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2007, Theatre

This study identifies and analyzes the factors that controlled the production and determined the success or failure of African American original screenplays and stage plays adapted into films in the United States of America during the last quarter of the twentieth century. Until we understand how economics and race intersect to create the vicious cycle of the perceived failure of African American films, the current system will ensure the continuous devaluing of African Americans and their work in the film industry. This dissertation documents data from 1,716 African American feature films and other films featuring African Americans. This data is analyzed in the context of the investment criteria used by Hollywood executives. The criteria are investigated in the context of cultural politics in order to identify the intersections of economics and race to better explore the crisis that African Americans face in the film industry. Each chapter and section answers specific questions related to the economic and cultural performance of original screenplays and stage plays adapted into film. Each chapter and section answers the following questions: What factors controlled the production of African American films from 1980 to 2000? What roles did African Americans play in the process? How do these factors affect the cultural and economic outcome of the film? This study provides a new approach to analyzing African American films.

Committee: Stratos Constantinidis (Advisor) Subjects:

Bachelor of Arts, Miami University, 2008, College of Arts and Sciences - Religion

Often when words like Evangelical and global climate change are found in the same sentence, they are accompanied with words like hoax or liberal. This thesis explores the involvement of Evangelical Christians in the ongoing public discourse about the negative consequences of human action towards the environment. A growing number of Evangelicals (a demographic that voted George W. Bush into office by a margin of four to one) are speaking out in favor of environmental protection. Human-induced global climate change is posited as an issue of immediate concern to this growing movement which has come to be known as Creation Care. Despite this trend, the Creation Care movement is not without critics from within the Evangelical community. This thesis argues that this contention is more political than it is theological and that both sides justify their claims by employing familiar frames that resonate with Evangelical voters.

Committee: Peter Williams PhD (Advisor); Jim Hanges PhD (Committee Member); John Forren PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: American Studies; Earth; Political Science; Religion; Religious Congregations; Religious History

Master of Music (MM), Bowling Green State University, 2012, Music Ethnomusicology

This thesis is an exploration of the relationship between religion and Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (GLBTQ) identity in the United States as revealed and complicated through popular music. It is based upon three case studies consisting of the 2011 Chicago Gay Pride Parade, the musical voice of the GLBTQ community as portrayed through gay anthems and historical gay icons, and pop star Lady Gaga's music and concert “The Monster Ball.” These three case studies build upon one another in order to further contextualize each other: the Chicago Gay Pride Parade uses music in order to redefine spaces in Chicago, the musical voice builds upon the concept of “gay” anthems by female singers, and Lady Gaga is one of the most popular contemporary gay icons. I completed much of the research for this project through ethnographic methods of participant observation and several interviews with community insiders. I examine the 2011 Chicago Gay Pride Parade as a ritualesque event that allows for personal and societal transformations needed in order to promote acceptance of GLBTQ individuals within the United States and as a celebration of a range of identities. By reflecting on my own and others' experiences as parade attendees and participants, I analyze music's role in the creation of a safe space that is necessary for these transformations. This study also reveals how the GLBTQ rights movement's aims and goals draw extensively on narratives of the American Dream, with its focus on narratives of transformation, since the movement's aims are on transforming the GLBTQ community's role in the United States. Next, to show certain strategic, political aims of the GLBTQ community, I explore the musical voices with which it has identified. More often than not, GLBTQ individuals do not turn to their own voices in choosing their musical anthems but rather the voices of non-GLBTQ individuals, in a manner that I understand as strategic identification. I detail how examining (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Katherine Meizel PhD (Advisor); Jeremy Wallach PhD (Committee Member); Mary Natvig PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Music

Bachelor of Arts, Wittenberg University, 2023, History

This thesis explores the complex and politically significant history of America's Religious Right. From the 1940s to the end of the 20th century, the Religious Right built upon public fear and unease, shaping their social and political positions for political, not theological, impact. As a political group, the Religious Right necessarily included a more social perspective to their political actions with the notion that certain elements of American society were morally dangerous and looking to the government to correct these flaws. By personalizing politics and emphasizing divisive wedge issues, they built a network of dedicated supporters who propelled their rise to power. This approach revitalized economic principles and introduced new wedge issues to direct public debate to follow the path they chose. The underpinnings of the Religious Right began to emerge in the 1940s and 1950s as World War II dramatically changed the character of life in the United States. Televangelists began to become major household names with reach and sway as economic and technologic effects of the war created a new market of television viewers. At the same time, the Civil Rights Movement started to threaten the stability of the racial hierarchies that the social order was based upon to a large extent. All the while, communism loomed as a dark specter over the nation. By the late 1980s and 1990s, the Religious Right had firmly entrenched itself as a political and social landscape of the United States. This achievement was the result of calculated political maneuvering over multiple generations, utilizing personal matters to unite a passionate and determined political base. Notably, the Religious Right's causes were manifestations of the public fears of their time. The dangerous element invoked by these fears evolved from communism to civil rights activists to LGBTQ+ individuals who bucked the roles society established for them. For the Religious Right, the theological backing for their cau (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Scott Rosenberg (Advisor); Travis Proctor (Committee Member); Thomas Taylor (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; American Studies; History; Political Science; Religion; Religious History

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2023, History

This dissertation focuses on the development of the Lost Cause mythology in North Carolina between the 1880s to the 1920s. The Lost Cause is a racist and inaccurate view of the Civil War years promoted by Neo-Confederate Southerners. This dissertation argues that the Lost Cause developed primarily through the efforts of Neo-Confederate organizations like the United Daughters of the Confederacy. These individuals built a compound-public space that united grassroots movements with official governmental figures to promote the Lost Cause mythology. The formation of this compound-public space and its impact on the Lost Cause provided the necessary cultural support for the development of a Democratic-backed white supremacist campaign in North Carolina in 1898 conducted to reduce the political power of Republicans and African Americans, and to re-establish Democratic hegemony. This dissertation explores the ways in which Neo-Confederates constructed the compound-public space including: the role of politics, gender, religion, education, the media, and Confederate monuments with the express goal of increasing the political power of the Democratic Party.

Committee: Joan Cashin (Advisor); John Brooke (Advisor); Stephanie Shaw (Committee Member); Paula Baker (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; Black History; Education History; Gender; Gender Studies; History; Journalism; Mass Media; Modern History; Religion; Religious History; Teacher Education; Womens Studies

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2023, Political Science

A large body of research points to evidence that the U.S. is in an era of strong party government, characterized by internally homogenous and externally heterogeneous parties. In a three article dissertation, I find that parties are not invariably strong and polarized. The first chapter finds evidence of surprising patterns of bipartisanship in state legislatures. The second chapter develops a methodology and produces a data set of scores reflecting members' influence in their party's constituent communication. The third chapter uses those scores to test whether party influence extends beyond formal legislative activities.

Committee: William Minozzi (Committee Chair); Skyler Cranmer (Committee Member); Janet Box-Stefensmeier (Committee Chair) Subjects: Political Science

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 1953, History

Committee: Virginia B. Platt (Advisor) Subjects: History; Political Science

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 1953, History

Committee: Virginia B. Platt (Advisor) Subjects: History; Political Science

BA, Oberlin College, 2022, Politics

This thesis seeks to understand the conditions in the United States post-9/11 that enabled the Bush administration to pursue a wide-ranging and all-encompassing “War on Terror,” with substantial support from the general public. I am principally focused on two significant facets of the War on Terror: the invasion of Iraq and the establishment of a permanent security state (and the interrelated creation of a new state of exception). I ask why the George W. Bush administration was so successful in generating support for both the invasion and occupation of Iraq, and for policies that violated fundamental civil liberties; I argue that the Bush administration, with substantial collaboration from mainstream mass media, was able to effectively instigate a moral panic as a result of the pre-existing widespread belief in American exceptionalism, as well as the prevalence of deeply rooted colonialist ideology, among the general public. Relatedly, I assert that the post-9/11 moment, including both the cultural reaction to the attacks and post-9/11 foreign policy, cannot be understood without first examining the significant political and cultural shifts that took place during and after the Cold War, among both the general public and among political elites. I then argue that this moral panic, which was actively cultivated by the Bush administration and many fixtures in the media, enabled Bush to implement policies and practices that violated domestic and/or international law with minimal backlash from the American public, and in many cases, even received enthusiastic support. These policies and practices established, and then further entrenched, a permanent state of exception centered principally around “homeland security.”

Committee: Kristina Mani (Advisor); Amanda Zadorian (Committee Member); Joshua Freedman (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; American Studies; Armed Forces; International Law; International Relations; Middle Eastern Studies; Political Science; Public Policy; Rhetoric

Bachelor of Arts (BA), Ohio University, 2022, Political Science

Recent years have seen online political subcultures that embrace populism and reject many liberal institutional norms gain increased influence over the mainstream political arena. Four of the most prominent of these subcultures include White Nationalists, believers of the QAnon conspiracy theory, the Black Lives Matter movement, and modern Socialists. All four of these groups have, to varying degrees, seen support for their views rise among mainstream media outlets, elected officials, and the public. However, the insistence of these groups on ideological purity and their often combative stance towards moderate colleagues has made influencing legislative efforts difficult for them at times. Additionally, these groups have had differential impacts on democracy in the United States. While the more progressive of these subcultures seek to expand democratic rights and participation to the poor and people of color, the more conservative among these groups often seek to restrict the political rights and influence of their ideological rivals and historically marginalized people.

Committee: DeLysa Burnier (Advisor) Subjects: Political Science

Master of Music (MM), Bowling Green State University, 2022, Music Composition

In partial fulfillment of the Master of Music degree in Composition, I completed a short opera in three scenes, State of the Union. It has three characters: Jon Stewart (baritone), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (mezzo-soprano), and Ted Cruz (tenor). The opera is eighteen minutes long in three scenes: Introduction, Debate, and Finale Chorus. Librettist Gabby Harrison and I wrote the story as a comedic and satirical experience on the current political climate in the United States of America. The first scene brings the audience into a taping of a typical late night political talk show. Stewart introduces himself and the show with a sung and spoken monologue, focusing on cultural and political events that transpire on Twitter. Ocasio-Cortez and Cruz introduce themselves, and their respective political views, to the audience and Cruz is accompanied by the hymn My Country, ‘Tis of Thee. Ocasio-Cortez begins an online political battle over Twitter and Cruz responds but is quickly cut off by Stewart to transition to the next scene. Stewart's lines in the first scene are set in a swung tune that loops the same few chords while Ocasio-Cortez and Cruz's lines are straight and direct. This differentiation shows the dynamic between the characters and how they are portrayed to the audience with their respective political ideologies. In scene two Stewart moderates a debate between Ocasio-Cortez and Cruz. They begin with the topic of racism in the American criminal justice system and eventually pivot to climate change. The debate spirals out of control on the last topic- healthcare. Tension builds in a stretto section that ends with Stewart coming to the realization that these politicians are not doing their jobs to help the American people. In this catharsis, Stewart's accompaniment transitions from recitative to a sinister tango in an odd meter of 7/4. Scene two transitions directly into scene three and the sinister music turns into a fast-paced comic march. This finale chorus is (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Christopher Dietz Ph.D. (Advisor); Marilyn Shrude D.M. (Committee Member) Subjects: Music

Bachelor of Arts, Wittenberg University, 2021, Political Science

This paper addresses what happened at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and analyzes how the Electoral College came to be. Understanding the compromises made during that summer in Philadelphia is paramount to comprehending how certain features were written into the electoral process or became the de facto way to do things. I maintain that the Founders themselves were not sure how to handle the issue of presidential selection and through their concessions and fears, the Electoral College was developed. This system is simply outdated and has outgrown what the Framers envisioned. This paper examines the major challenges and countermajorian features plaguing the electoral system. I first explain how the Three-Fifths Compromise came to be and what led to its application in electing the executive from its original context of legislative representation. From there I dissect how the interests of small states were protected through the Connecticut Compromise, and how this contributed to the “House Size Effect.” I argue that the winner-take-all method is the most undemocratic feature in the Electoral College and ignores the voices of the minority. From the myriad of problems permeating the electoral system, I advocate for direct election of the president.

Committee: Rob Baker (Advisor); Ed Hasecke (Committee Member); Molly Wood (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; American Studies; Political Science

BA, Oberlin College, 2021, Politics

Elected prosecutors in the United States have facilitated mass incarceration, especially since 1994. In response, activists have helped to elect progressive prosecutors at the local level. This thesis examines whether prosecutors can achieve progressive goals, including increasing the fairness of the criminal justice process, prosecuting police abuse, and reducing incarceration. Based on three case studies, I find that prosecutors can reduce incarceration and increase the fairness of the criminal justice process, but that they currently face significant constraints in prosecuting police abuse. A prosecutor's capacity to collaborate with more conservative agents is the most crucial factor for success and depends on not prosecuting police abuse, limiting the extent to which they reduce prosecutions, and, to a lesser degree, limiting how far they go toward promoting a fairer criminal process.

Committee: M. David Forrest (Advisor); Michael D. Parkin (Advisor); Amy Berg (Committee Member) Subjects: Political Science