Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, History

Zambia's journey under the leadership of Kenneth Kaunda from 1964 to 1980 exemplifies the choices and challenges faced by many postcolonial states, as he endeavored to shape the nation through his philosophy, which he called Humanism. Humanism was ambiguous, broad, and changeable. It was a multi-purpose tool used to support the United National Independence Party's (UNIP's) aims of political supremacy as well as Kaunda's personal aims, which were rooted in his upbringing, personal experiences, and personality. At its root, it was meant to be an ideology focused on the betterment of Zambians, which made it compelling. In practice, Zambians used it to their own advantage, shaping it or rejecting it as they saw fit, and Kaunda used it to suppress his rivals and critics. The growing gap between Kaunda's vision and its reception by Zambians fostered an environment where his authoritarianism flourished, as his attempts to realize these ambitious dreams led to increasingly repressive measures. Humanism, therefore, connected international and domestic conversations around Zambian state-building, innovation, and suppression. The chapters in this dissertation collectively provide a comprehensive overview of Kaunda's Humanism and its multifaceted impacts on Zambia. Chapter 2 explores the development of Humanism through Kaunda's writings, revealing how his philosophies on religion, morality, violence, multiracialism, Pan-Africanism, and apartheid changed to support his needs. Chapter 3 shows how international image-building involved both encouraging well-established colonial tropes, such as Humanism's romanticization of precolonial Zambia, and constant damage control by surveilling international news coverage regarding the new nation. Chapter 4 explores how Kaunda attempted to implement Humanism into Zambian foreign policy and the tension between economic pragmatism and his moral commitments in multilateral organizations, the Third World, and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). It (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Joseph Parrott (Advisor); Michael Ralph (Committee Member); Thomas McDow (Committee Member); Sarah Van Beurden (Committee Member) Subjects: African History; African Studies

MA, Kent State University, 2021, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of History

In response to his father's dying wish, Stephen Austin took up the responsibility of being the first empresario of Texas with the job of bringing Americans into the region. The arrival of American settlers over fifteen years drastically shifted the population of Texas as more Americans moved into the region. The events of fifteen years of mistrust between the Mexican government and its new citizens came to an end when in 1836, Texas declared independence and became the Republic of Texas. The events of Texas were recorded and lived by Austin as he remained one of the most influential figures in Texas, acting as a bridge between the Anglo settlers and the Mexicans. This thesis uses Austin to study and understand how the free nation of Texas was not inevitable, and Texas could have remained a state in Mexico. I present several arguments throughout this thesis. First, while other historical works give the idea of inevitability, I argue that an examination of Austin shows how a free Texas was not inevitable. The question of loyalty of the Anglos, as seen by Austin, clashes against the idea that the Americans who emigrated did so planning to free Texas from Mexico. Second, that the Texas Revolution should be examined as two separate wars. When Texas declared war in 1835, they joined the already existing Civil War between the liberal and conservative parties. This war was not for independence or against all of Mexico but was against the centralist party that led Mexico and aimed to remove the Constitution of 1824. The second war would not happen until 1836, when the Texans decided to declare independence, and the war moved to being against all of Mexico. Breaking the revolution up also supports the argument that Austin and the colonists were loyal to the Constitution and their oaths to Mexico. I argue that pressures outside of Texas caused them to declare independence. I believe it is essential to distinguish these two events from each other as they each posed different fu (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Kim Gruenwald (Advisor) Subjects: History

Bachelor of Arts, Ashland University, 2014, History/Political Science

Abraham Lincoln, writes Isaac Arnold, his close friend and biographer, “knew the Bible by heart. There was not a clergyman to be found so familiar with it as he.” It was his mother's recitation of the Psalms and Shakespeare's plays while doing household chores that gave a young Abraham Lincoln a taste for the euphony of words. Throughout his writings and speeches, he frequently, carefully, and intentionally employed biblical imagery, rhythms, phrases, and themes to communicate his ideas. Lincoln spoke in a way that the American people could understand; he spoke the language of the Scripture to a deeply religious nation. Four score and seven years ago comes from Psalm 90. Our fathers sounds like the Old Testament Patriarchs. Brought forth sounds like the Israelite's deliverance from Egypt or the virgin birth. Shall not perish sounds like eternal life. New birth of freedom sounds like salvation. Most importantly, Lincoln borrowed the content of the Bible to show the uniqueness of the American regime and to encourage her people to dedicate themselves to its purpose. In Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on November 19th, 1863, Abraham Lincoln reminded the American people that the nation, unlike every other country in the world, lives. She was conceived. She was brought forth. She was dedicated to the idea that all men are created equal, and yet, because we have called that truth a self-evident lie, she can only continue living if we rededicate ourselves to that proposition. These brave soldiers have given their lives that that nation might live, but the task is not complete. It falls to the living to restore the nation to life, to bring about a new birth of freedom. Lincoln at Gettysburg invested his politics with the content of the Scriptures. He desired to raise a mirror to America, remind her that she lives, and call her to action.

Committee: Peter Schramm PhD (Advisor); Jeffrey Sikkenga PhD (Committee Member); David Foster PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: American Studies; History; Political Science; Religion

Master of Arts in English, Cleveland State University, 2012, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Through the utilization of Jean-Francois Lyotard's views on the Postmodern Condition, this paper highlights the failure of metanarratives to accurately convince, as well as convey information and understanding in a postmodern society. This is due in part to what Lyotard believes is an increasing skepticism towards the grand totalizing nature of metanarratives and their reliance on some form of universal truth. In order to reverse the overarching effect of the metanarrative, its all-encompassing nature, and its power to legitimize illegitimate versions of institutionalized truths; one must focus on what Lyotard describes as “petit recits” or “little stories”. This theoretical framework will serve as the foundation for understanding the interrelated functions of truth and identity within Michael Ondaatje's Anil's Ghost. Set in the midst of the Sri Lankan civil war, Ondaatje uses his protagonist, Anil Tissera, to highlight not only the failure of the West to understand the decades long conflict, but also to indict the Sri Lankan government's complicity in the extrajudicial murders of its own civilians; as well as showcasing the relationship between testifying and witnessing unspeakable acts of violence. Because colonialism sought to bring the colonized other under a single law of imperial imposition, it is in a way a type of metanarrative; whose aftereffects continue to linger in post-independence era nations. These aftereffects have caused the traditionally fragmented South-Asian society to fragment even further when the unifying feature of colonialism dissolved. The personal stories of the characters within Ondaatje's novel serve to not only showcase their understanding of the conflict, but also as an allegorical allusion to the island and its conflicts as well. Anil's identity creation; the conflict between brothers; the failure to prove hidden truths; and giving a voice to those who cannot or will not speak, are all attempts by Ondaatje and his characters, to shed (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jennifer M. Jeffers PhD (Committee Chair); Fredrick J. Karem PhD (Committee Member); Adrienne Gosselin PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Asian American Studies; Asian Studies; Canadian Literature; Comparative; Ethnic Studies; Families and Family Life; Forensic Anthropology; Gender Studies; History; Holocaust Studies; Human Remains; International Relations; Language Arts; Literature; Minority and Ethnic