Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2017, History

This dissertation charts the path by which an idealized understanding of the Soviet Union aided the transformation of Marxism from a counter-hegemonic to a hegemonic discourse within China over the course of the four decades from the 1917 October Revolution until Nikita Khrushchev's 1956 “Secret Speech.” It probes previously unexamined commercial, political, and student presses, as well as organizational records, to detail ways by which the “image” of the Soviet Union was employed by separate groups to critique domestic political forces during China's Republican era (1912-49), challenge capitalism and international imperialism, and secure popular support during the early years of the People's Republic (1949-). Such inquiry sheds light on the conflicting ways in which Chinese imagined themselves and their world, and reveals an alternative conception of modernity that promised to bridge “East” and “West.” Chapters One, Two, and Four through Six provide a chronological reading of the “Soviet Union” in Shanghai and Beijing presses. As China experienced the consecutive pangs of revolutionary upheaval, state consolidation, foreign invasion, and civil war, the “meaning” of the Soviet Union also changed. Activists in the 1920s viewed the October Revolution as the opening salvo of a growing international movement against all forms of oppression. Over the following decades, however, “modernization” eclipsed “internationalism” as the USSR's chief selling point. The Soviet Union came to be portrayed as an industrialized nation with high rates of economic growth, able to provide for its citizens, and withstand foreign aggression. By depicting New China as the “younger brother” of the modern USSR, the Chinese Communist Party upon taking power implied that it would be able to replicate Soviet successes domestically. Chapters Three, Seven, and Eight examine organizations that defined their respective eras: the proletarian women's movement of the 1920s, and Shangh (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Christopher Reed (Advisor); Ying Zhang (Committee Member); David Hoffmann (Committee Member); Judy Wu (Committee Member) Subjects: Asian Studies; History; Mass Media; Modern History; Political Science; Russian History

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2012, East Asian Studies

During the early 1920s, New Culture intellectuals frequently deployed the "new woman" trope as the personification of an idealized modernity, constituted in relation to its Confucian, traditional, other. Though this discourse is often cited in historical scholarship, the origins of the Chinese "new woman" preceded the advent of the New Culture Movement, and her sociocultural meanings often exceeded descriptions espoused by affiliated male intellectuals. Emerging from the women's education movement of the late Qing period (1644-1912), the "new woman" remained a highly contested representation of conflicting visions of Chinese modernity throughout the early twentieth century. This work demonstrates the instability and adaptability of the "new woman" trope through a case study of the most widely circulated women's periodical in Republican China, The Ladies' Journal (Funu zazhi). An examination of The Ladies' Journal suggests that prevalent discourses of the "new woman," much like the goals of the broader women's movement, shifted with China's sociopolitical landscape through the periods of the early Republic (1915-1918), the New Culture Era (1919-1925), and the early Guomindang (Naitonalist Party) state (1926-1931). This work troubles definitions of "feminism" rooted in the politics of the recent West. Though many men and women in Republican China proposed methods of improving gender relations, these figures rarely embodied the ideals of Western-oriented feminists of the late twentieth century. Rather than deem these historical figures as less than feminist based on present notions, this work notes the complexities and particularities of "feminism (funu zhuyi)" in Republican China.

Committee: Ying Zhang PhD (Advisor); Martin Joseph Ponce PhD (Committee Member); Christopher A. Reed PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Asian Studies; Gender; Gender Studies; History

Master of Arts (MA), Wright State University, 2021, International and Comparative Politics

This study identifies three tactics authoritarian leaders use to attempt to effectively coerce their citizens without losing power: 1) performance legitimacy, 2) nationalist legitimacy, and 3) institutional legitimacy. To demonstrate these tactics of what I call “coercive effectiveness,” the author employs a most-different-systems analysis on the regimes of Xi Jinping (2012 2015) and Bashar al-Assad (2000-2004). The author finds that coercion is more likely to be effective under the following conditions: 1) when leaders use economic performance and institutionalist strategies rather than nationalist tactics, 2) when an authoritarian leader climbs the ladder to power rather than inheriting leadership and 3) when a regime is structured around the party rather than those centered on an individual leader. These findings allow policy makers to make more informed decisions for interacting with leaders. For example, the more that a regime centralizes its power, the more likely they will lose their grip on coercion by making themselves the sole target for blame.

Committee: Laura Luehrmann Ph.D. (Advisor); Pramod Kantha Ph.D. (Committee Member); Vaughn Shannon Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Comparative; International Relations; Middle Eastern History; Political Science

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2020, History

This dissertation will explore the short history of Ginling College, a women's college established by American missionaries in Nanjing, China, lasting from 1915 to 1951. Ginling aimed to provide higher education to Chinese women and train women leaders for the advancement of Chinese Christianity. Between 1927 and 1928, the surging appeal of the Chinese to regain control over educational institutions in China pressed Ginling to Sinicize its administration. Under the Chinese leadership, Ginling continued to be managed cooperatively by an international body of women. During World War II, the college earned public acclaim for its service to Chinese refugees during the Nanjing Massacre of 1937 and its relief work for China's government on its wartime campus at Chengdu, West China. After the war, Ginling navigated the furious political complexities of the Nationalist-Communist conflict. In 1951, it was combined with the University of Nanking. All its Western faculty went back to their home countries. However, through local alumnae associations all around the world, Ginling's former Western faculty and overseas alumnae continued to sustain an active women's community. After the economic reform of China in 1978, Ginling's overseas alumnae and faculty reestablished contact with mainland China members. In 1987, through alumnae efforts, Ginling was rebuilt within Nanjing Normal University on its old campus. The Ginling Alumnae Association is still active today. Previous studies often accused the missionary project for overlooking the agency of local people and thus for deepening international misunderstanding. Taking Ginling as an example, this study shows that Western missionaries and Chinese people could have deep and effective communication. Ginling's Western faculty and administrators cared about Chinese needs and respected Chinese agency. Meanwhile, Chinese agency in defending and facilitating the nationalistic cause of sovereignty, independence, and au (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: David Hammack (Advisor) Subjects: American History; Asian Studies; Education History; International Relations; Womens Studies; World History

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2019, History

This dissertation argues that the ideology of "the non-communist left" played a key role in reshaping both American liberalism and the Democratic Party from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. It approaches this argument by exploring the ideas and activities of three liberals in the Democratic Party: Arthur Schlesinger Jr., John Kenneth Galbraith, and Chester Bowles. As intellectuals and policy advocates, this trio linked their party not only with the nation's liberal circle but also with various manifestations of the global noncommunist left, including democratic socialists, anticolonial nationalists, and other progressives of the "third force" in Europe and Asia. In so doing, the three helped change the Democratic Party's outlook on four major issues in postwar politics: the purpose of political reform, the meaning of the welfare state, modernization in noncommunist Asia, and coexistence with communist China. Their role as intellectuals and advisers was particularly significant during the 1950s, a decade their party spent primarily wandering the political wilderness. In search of fresh ideas amid the ideological doldrums, Democratic leaders actively sought these liberals' advice on foreign and domestic issues alike. In response, Schlesinger, Galbraith, and Bowles formulated a series of new visions for their party through in-depth participation in a series of controversies within the American liberal circle as well as active interaction with progressive political figures across the world. By examining how these liberals produced their visions through a transnational conversation, how their visions were reformulated into policies through discussions with other liberals, and how and why their policies were accepted or rejected by Democratic leaders, this dissertation demonstrates that these three liberals kept "the party of reform" moving during "the age of consensus."

Committee: David Stebenne (Advisor); David Steigerwald (Committee Member); Paula Baker (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; American Studies; Asian Studies; European History; History; Modern History; Pacific Rim Studies; Philosophy; Political Science

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2009, East Asian Studies

The Protestant missionary enterprise in China in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was an enormous effort on the part of Western Protestant missionaries to convert a foreign civilization to Christianity and the Western way of life. One of the most important aspects of this campaign was the focus on education and the introduction of public missionary schools for girls into the Chinese context. Certainly many historians, such as Kenneth Latourette and Alice Gregg have produced broad works that touch on the subject of missionary schools for girls, and others, such as Ryan Dunch and Mary Jo Waelchli, have written fascinating case studies on individual schools. This thesis will look at the phenomenon of female education in the public sphere, examining the development of missionary schools for girls in China between 1872 and 1924. Examining three schools as case studies, this thesis will argue that these schools were not uniform, but that each school was an institution responsive to desires of the local community in which it was located, the individuals who were associated with it, and the historical trends of the times. The intersection of these three disparate factors resulted in a series of schools linked by a common goal – the education and conversion of Chinese girls – but following very different paths. These paths would lead not to the conversion of China, as hoped by the missionaries, but would leave a lasting impression on education for girls in China.

Committee: Christopher Reed PhD (Advisor); Cynthia Brokaw PhD (Committee Member); Patricia Sieber PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education History; Gender; History; Literacy; Religious Education