BA, Oberlin College, 2016, History

My thesis examines contested representations of the Arab Revolt of 1936-1939 in Palestine and the interests of the groups that constructed these representations. I use archival documents, historical newspapers, and memoirs to demonstrate that Palestinians tended to portray the conflict as a contentious struggle for independence, while British and Zionist leaders understood it as a series of violent, criminal disturbances. My thesis explores Palestinian motivations and tactics in order to challenge characterizations of rebels as “extremists.” I argue that the Revolt's failure allowed British and Zionist representations to emerge as the hegemonic discourse reaching English-speaking audiences about the rebellion.

Committee: Zeinab Abul-Magd (Advisor) Subjects: History; Middle Eastern History

Bachelor of Arts (BA), Ohio University, 2015, English

Whether viewed as an attempt from a pious man to rationalize the acts of God or an exploration of free will, Milton's Paradise Lost has cycled through diverging, occasionally contradictory, readings since its publication nearly 400 years ago. A sizeable portion of the poem's complexity lies in the manner in which it chooses to depict God, who is split into the characters of The Father and The Son, and and the Devil. The most notorious figure in Milton's ouvre, Milton's Satan stands apart from former depictions of the Devil in its unapologetic identification with the fallen angel's goals and desires. This, paired with a God that is noticeably less merciful than is traditionally depicted, gives rise to unsettling questions regarding the nature of Christianity and the mind of a poet who would write such a work in a time when, even amongst growing heterodoxy, certain components of Christian faith were considered unshakable truths. The route that I have taken to solve this incongruity is to divorce the text from its source material and view it as something other than just an expression of religious devotion or theological study. Drawing extensively from Milton's life, historical predicament and political tracts, this reading views the text as an expression of political disillusionment, an examination of the act of revolt from a man who had passionately supported a doomed revolution.

Committee: Beth Quitslund (Advisor) Subjects: British and Irish Literature; Literature

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2005, History

The decade of the 1640s was a time of social and political upheaval that affected every country in Europe. Specific studies of revolts in England, France, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Sweden have identified the presence of a religious component that shaped the identities of rebellious factions and served to maintain a spirit of opposition throughout these crises. Although the religious element of the 1640 Catalan revolt has been overlooked, the regional clergy played an enormous role in sustaining what was essentially a revolt in the name of religion. The burning of the Sacrament in two small villages began the revolt; the Catalan church's continued financial donations continued resistance through the critical first two years of war, long enough to turn the rural rebellion into a revolution. Clerics wrote many of the early pamphlets justifying secession, helping to tie the provincial Church more closely to the insurrection. During the winter of 1640-1641, facing imminent defeat at the hands of the royal army, monks, friars, and priests sought neither repentance nor forgiveness, but rather prayed for divine deliverance from their attackers. Following the unexpected rebel victory at Montjuic in January 1641, the enthusiasm of the Catalan clergy for the revolution did not diminish. Throughout the campaigns of 1641 and 1642, the first estate gave great sums of money to finance Catalan soldiers as well as their French allies in their fight against Castile. Furthermore, despite the untimely death of Pau Claris, other clerics filled important positions of leadership in the new Franco-Catalan government, serving as judges, administrators, tax collectors, and even heading a new Inquisition in Barcelona. Eventually, growing numbers of Catalan clergy would turn against the revolutionary regime, using their money and their positions as leaders in society to win the hearts and minds of many back to their allegiance to Philip IV. A study of the many roles filled by the ecclesia (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Geoffrey Parker (Advisor) Subjects: History, European

BA, Oberlin College, 2007, Economics

This paper examines the effect of income inequality on the impetus of an organized dissident group to initiate a "revolt" in an attempt to wrest power from the government regionally or countrywide. After suggesting alterations and extensions of a mathematical framework developed by Blomberg, Hess, and Weerapana (2004) income inequality, economic growth, urbanization, and political rights data from 102 countries from 1972-1999 are used to determine their respective influences on the likelihood of a revolt being initiated in a given year. Income inequality as measured by the Gini coefficient is found to be statistically significant in determining the likelihood of the start of politically motivated conflict, as is political openness, and economic growth while the overall predictive power of the model is found to be weak.

Committee: Barbara Craig (Advisor) Subjects: Economic History; Economics

Bachelor of Arts, Miami University, 2006, College of Arts and Sciences - Philosophy

Reading Don DeLillo and Dave Eggers one feels the strong impression that nothing matters. Using White Noise and You Shall Know Our Velocity as starting points I examine where this impression comes from and what it implies. Next I explore the question of whether life could be worth living in such a situation and what a worthwhile life would look like using Camus' works The Myth of Sisyphus and The Stranger. Finally I examine The Rebel and The Plague to determine whether humanism is still possible given the picture painted in the above works. Ultimately I conclude that it is still possible to care about the suffering of others.

Committee: Elaine Miller (Advisor) Subjects: