Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2023, Educational Leadership

The lived experiences of African immigrants in the Nordics are rich and complex, but the literature available on this population is lacking. To counter the deficit thinking and oppressive literature available on Africans in Norway, this paper is created to uplift the African community by highlighting the important work of the first Pan-African youth organization in Norway Afrikan Youth in Norway (AYIN), our elders in the community, and other Africans in Norway while telling the stories through a critical lens. I used Africana Critical Theory to look at the growth, education, and identity formation of us, outside of the Eurocentric lens. This is drawn from critical thought and philosophical traditions rooted in the realities of continental and diasporan African history, culture, and struggles. This exploration includes interviews with former AYIN members, focusing on their experiences growing up and the influence the youth organization had and still has in their lives. This inquiry is a celebration of us, the population in Norway that have over generations worked towards going beyond tolerance by the Norwegian society, towards inclusion and acceptance.

Committee: Lisa Weems (Committee Chair); Brian Schultz (Committee Member); Joel Malin (Committee Member); Denise Baszile (Committee Member) Subjects: African Studies; Black History; Black Studies; Curricula; Education; Minority and Ethnic Groups; Multicultural Education; Pedagogy; Scandinavian Studies

MA, Kent State University, 2022, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of History

This paper focuses on evangelicalism, immigration, and unionism by looking at the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party (MFLP). The MFLP embodied the Midwestern and transatlantic religious developments introduced to it by immigrants coming from Protestant Europe. Yet, scholars have ignored the role of evangelicalism and migration in shaping the MFLP. By using the example of this party, this paper argues for a revised approach to labor and evangelical Christianity: appreciating it as a synthesis of European Christian Socialism and American evangelicalism as informed by transatlantic flows of migrations, ideas, and encounters from the 1800s to 1917.

Committee: Elaine Frantz Dr. (Advisor); Brian Hayashi Dr. (Committee Member); Richard Steigmann-Gall Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; European History; History; Labor Economics; Labor Relations; Modern History; Religion; Religious Congregations; Religious History; Scandinavian Studies

Bachelor of Arts, Wittenberg University, 2021, History

In the medieval era, Scandinavian settlers and raiders (now commonly thought of as “Vikings”) had an influential presence in Ireland, particularly Dublin. While one trend of historical thought views Vikings solely as aggressors in Ireland, newer perspectives have begun to dissect the role of Scandinavians within Ireland under a more neutral lens—one which involves studying the cultural influences and exchanges held between the native and foreign populations. This thesis first describes the ways in which historians have characterized the Viking presence in Ireland, and then examines how the Scandinavians are described in primary sources such as the Annals of Ulster, the Annals of Inisfallen, and the Cogadh Gaedhel re Gallaibh. The manner in which the Vikings interact with these populations, the exact names that are being used to describe them (e.g. “Norsemen,” “Danes,” “dark foreigners,” “fair foreigners”), and the examination of how that contributes to the idea of different Scandinavian groups will be considered. Particularly with the sources from the Irish Sea zone, special attention will be paid to how the Scandinavians are being described in order to examine the apparent differentiation in groups of Vikings. Once that is established, it is then necessary to examine ethnicity within a medieval context, as well as looking at specific cultural interactions between the Irish and Scandinavians. Ethnicity was not the motivator or defining factor within society. Rather, kinship, alliances, and overarching lordship held more weight in determining the cohesion of people. Thus, while raiding and more violent interactions did occur, so did a variety of cultural exchanges and developments that allowed for a multi-cultural society to progress throughout the Viking Age. Through broadening the scope of perspective throughout the Irish Sea zone to observe the different units of Scandinavians, the ethnic perceptions and corroborations occurring between the native Irish population (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Christian Raffensperger (Advisor); Amy Livingstone (Committee Member); Molly Wood (Committee Member) Subjects: Ethnic Studies; European History; History; Medieval History; Scandinavian Studies

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2020, EDU Teaching and Learning

“Buying the blueprints: Investing emotionally and materially in the icy ideologies of Disney's Frozen” uses a cultural studies framework to examine qualitative data collected from interviews with Norwegian children and families, observations of public engagement with the Frozen films both in Norway and at EPCOT's Norway pavilion, and narrative analysis of the Frozen films. Discussions of indigeneity, national/cultural identity, and gender as they are represented in Frozen are situated within the Disney Princess film tradition and examined as social blueprints (Dorfman, 1983) that contribute to audience's constructed schemas. Through these themes, I illuminate the Disney brand's reliance on audiences' emotional engagement with narratives to subdue critique and invite material investment in physical and digital merchandise. “Buying the blueprints” also offers suggestions for critical, creative engagement with the Frozen films, exploring play-based restorying (Wohlwend, 2009)(Thomas & Stornaiuolo, 2016) as a potential site for critical media literacy practice.

Committee: Caroline Clark (Advisor); Michelle Abate (Committee Member); Merrill Kaplan (Committee Member) Subjects: Early Childhood Education; Film Studies; Gender; Literacy; Literature; Mass Media; Motion Pictures; Multicultural Education; Scandinavian Studies

Master of Arts (MA), Wright State University, 2020, History

The failures of the Scanian War of 1675-1679 revealed to a young Karl XI that Sweden's military was in dire need of reform. This thesis follows the king's process of negotiating with the peasantry over the implementation of one of these new reforms, the knekthall system for recruiting infantry. It argues that Karl XI intentionally used negotiation as an instrument to build a more efficient method of military recruitment and maintenance. That he used negotiation as a tool to adapt to diverse localities and align the requirements of the knekthall system with the real resources of an area. Negotiation legitimized the king's resource extraction even as it provided him with information on the resources of a locality and the peasant's willingness to part with them. Through this alignment the system gained stability, and with that long-term efficiency. Negotiation was not the last recourse of a king not powerful enough to enforce his will, but a tool with unique properties utilized to achieve the state's goals in a manner unattainable with coercion.

Committee: Paul D. Lockhart Ph.D. (Advisor); Kathryn B. Meyer Ph.D. (Committee Member); Jonathan R. Winkler Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: European History; History; Military History; Military Studies; Scandinavian Studies

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2020, Music

In recent years, scholars have commenced to reevaluate the advent and origins of 20th-century artistic movements, with the repositioning of experimental artistic networks like Fluxus as a decentralized, transnational network of artists, a component as integral to Fluxus' identity as its interdisciplinarity. Despite such claims, many art historical and musicological inquiries remain focused upon the activities of Fluxus artists within historically conceived artistic “centers” in the United States and Western Europe, as opposed to a more holistic investigation of Fluxus' “transnational” aspect. Informed by archival and ethnographic research, and engaged with art historians, musicologists, and cultural anthropologists, this dissertation interrogates these dominant narratives through three interrelated, yet distinct case studies involving Icelandic and non-Icelandic artists: Nam June Paik and Charlotte Moorman's scandalous performance at Reykjavik's Theatre Lindarbær, the emergence of the Icelandic collective SUM, and Magnus Palsson's role in experimental arts pedagogy. Such an investigation is not only concerned with examining Iceland's (and the Nordic region more broadly) historical and socio-political position within this transnational milieu, but also the individuals who cultivated, embodied, and lived these cross-cultural exchanges, who have been relegated to the periphery of contemporary historiography.

Committee: Arved Ashby (Advisor); Ryan Skinner (Advisor); Richard Fletcher (Committee Member) Subjects: Art History; Music; Scandinavian Studies

Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2016, Theatre

Theatre is a liminal environment between performers and a live audience, and between the past, present and future. Theatre practitioners often bring to life old scripts that have graced the stage many times while highlighting the relevance of key themes and motifs in relation to a modern audience. The work of playwright Henrik Ibsen is produced worldwide because of its modern subjects, despite having been written in the late nineteenth century.Under the direction of Lesley Ferris, I designed the scenic environment for Rebecca Lenkiewicz's version of Henrik Ibsen's An Enemy of the People at The Ohio State University. I used a combination of sketches, digital modelling, and a physical white model to communicate my scenic design. By way of reducing, reusing, and recycling, I executed a sustainable scenic environment that complimented the themes of environmental awareness within the play without compromising the aesthetic of the design.

Committee: Brad Steinmetz M.F.A. (Advisor); Mary Tarantino M.F.A (Committee Member); Lesley Ferris PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Architectural; Architecture; Art History; Design; Environmental Education; Environmental Health; Environmental Management; Environmental Studies; Fine Arts; Gender; Gender Studies; Performing Arts; Scandinavian Studies; Theater; Theater History; Theater Studies; Womens Studies

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2014, Sociology

Although the existing transnational literature on xenophobia is voluminous, it has mostly neglected the effect of urban status on intergroup relations. This article addresses this shortcoming by integrating theories from urban sociology with work on ingroup-outgroup dynamics drawn from contact theory, group threat theory, social identity theory, and social dominance theory. Method: Using a sample drawn from the sixth wave of the European Social Survey, I construct a critical experiment modelling the effect of both residential status and outgroup presence on xenophobia in the Scandinavian states. Findings: My results point to inconsistent influences of urbanity/urbanism on xenophobia, but a robust negative influence of percent foreign on xenophobia (i.e., partial support for contact theory). Conversely, my critical experiment, which takes the form of interacting residential status (urbanity) and foreign percentage, is positive and consistent with group threat theory, social identity theory, and social dominance theory. I conclude with speculation on how sample selection and composition plays into these findings, as well as with suggestions for future research.

Committee: Edwards Crenshaw Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Craig Jenkins Ph.D. (Committee Member); Vincent Roscigno Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Scandinavian Studies; Sociology

Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Dayton, 2014, English

Salome: Reviving the Dark Lady is a rationale for an impending interdisciplinary reimagining of the literary Dark Lady for the early twenty-first century. The work comprises of poetry, dance, and film. This thesis recounts the history of beauty in the Early Modern Period and discusses the historical context of the Dark Lady to provide a frame for the journey of marginalized archetype into the twenty-first century. The choreopoem itself is built upon Salome, the character from Elizabeth Cary's1613 closet drama "The Tragedy of Mariam Fair Queen of Jewry." The choreopoem contains transliterated soliloquies of the princess interspersed through original poems and prose inspired by works of spoken-word artist Andrea Gibson, twentieth-century Afro-Scandinavian author Nella Larsen, and various literary and cultural critics.

Committee: Albino Carrillo (Advisor) Subjects: African American Studies; American Literature; Bible; British and Irish Literature; Comparative Literature; Cultural Anthropology; Dance; European Studies; Experiments; Folklore; Gender; Language Arts; Literature; Minority and Ethnic Groups; Modern History; Religion; Scandinavian Studies; Theater; Womens Studies

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2013, Film (Fine Arts)

This thesis provides a historical approach to the question of how lesbianism is made visible in Hollywood film adaptations of lesbian narratives from the 1930s to 2011. Chapter one examines Code censorship and haunting absences in Rebecca (1940), These Three (1936) and The Children's Hour (1961). Chapter two analyzes ambiguous lesbian representation as a type of dual marketing approach designed to appeal to both heterosexual mainstream audiences and queer audiences in The Color Purple (1985), Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), and Orlando (1992). Chapter three culminates in an examination of the location of queerness in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009, 2011) focusing on the character of Lisbeth Salander as a queer force aimed at destabilizing heterosexist assumption. It is through my examination of the historical shifts in the process translating lesbianism from a verbal description to a visible depiction on screen in Hollywood adaptations that the social and cultural significance and impact of these historical shifts becomes apparent.

Committee: Ofer Eliaz (Committee Chair) Subjects: Film Studies; Gender; History; Literature; Mass Media; Modern Literature; Scandinavian Studies; Womens Studies

Doctor of Musical Arts, The Ohio State University, 2013, Music

Over the course of two weeks in the spring of 2013, the author observed and interviewed bassoonists in Malmo, Sweden and Copenhagen, Denmark. The purpose of this research is to determine if unique pedagogical models exist in Scandinavia, and if they exist, do they contribute to the success of Scandinavian bassoonists. The author observed college age students enrolled in full-time university studies in bassoon, professional musicians, and artist teachers. The findings of this research indicate that pedagogical models prevalent in Malmo, Sweden and Copenhagen, Denmark are not sufficiently unique to the area to explain a concentration of successful bassoonists. This research details the observations of bassoon playing and teaching in Malmo, Sweden and Copenhagen, Denmark, and makes comparisons to bassoon playing and teaching in the United States. In addition to observations, possible areas for further research have been identified in the final chapter.

Committee: Karen Pierson Professor (Advisor); Jan Edwards Doctor (Committee Member); Mikkelson Russel Doctor (Committee Member); Robert Sorton Professor (Committee Member) Subjects: Music; Pedagogy; Performing Arts; Scandinavian Studies

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2013, History

This dissertation analyzes interactions between politicians, bureaucrats and diverse groups of women over the issue of maternity legislation in Norway between 1880 and 1940. It adds to a rich historiographic debate on welfare state development, women's roles in the creation of welfare policies, the Scandinavian model of welfare and the institutionalization of women's birth experiences. During the sixty years that this study encompasses, Norwegian maternity legislation underwent drastic and dynamic changes. From their initial implementation in 1892, maternity policies expanded in coverage, application and protections. This dissertation traces the history of this development along several lines, including local and national political processes and women's collective and individual influence. While women's access to maternity provisions steadily increased during this period, these achievements were fraught with struggles. Historical context shaped the types of arguments women could use to advance political debates about maternity. In many cases, these hindrances led to the creation of policies that promoted maternity legislation at the expense of certain groups of women's autonomy. Women did not act as a monolithic group when it came to maternity policies. Feminists, midwives and working women actively participated in the creation of Norwegian maternity policies and adapted them to fit their particular needs and interests. These groups of women transformed maternity leave from a mandatory, restrictive form of state control over women's reproduction to a benefit that all working women had a right to receive. In order to achieve more beneficial maternity policies, these groups of women embraced arguments that resonated with contemporary concerns. Late-nineteenth factory legislation had established maternity as an area of state intervention mainly because it fell in line with what other more industrialized countries were doing at the time. These early materni (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Birgitte Søland (Advisor); Robin Judd (Committee Member); Susan Hartmann (Committee Member) Subjects: European History; Gender Studies; Scandinavian Studies; Welfare; Womens Studies