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Publication Man’s Best Fiend: The Black Dog and Social Change in EnglandVail, RowanTales of dark, fiery-eyed hounds heralding storms and prowling lonely roads have been a consistent presence in English folklore since at least the time of the Reformation. Despite their ubiquity, these Black Dogs do not always serve the same purpose. These distinctions correspond with three different natures: the Devil, which seeks to punish sinners; the Omen, which appears as a portent of death; and the Guardian, which acts as a protector. These interlocking evolutions formed as direct reflections of moments of social change within England.Publication “All Rights Are Held Subject to the Police Power”: The Rise and Fall of the Police Powers in American Constitutional LawThomas, AlbertCurrent libertarian understandings of individual rights are assumed by many to have been a fundamental part of our American culture since the nation’s founding. Yet our understanding of American individualism and its ideals is a modern one; though the Bill of Rights speaks of individual liberties which are to be protected against the federal government, local "police" powers took priority over individual rights through much of U.S. history. The police powers were predicated on a community-centered interpretation of liberty, which resembles the philosophy of Rousseau. In this thesis, I argue that 19th-century America exhibits a remarkably French understanding of religious freedom that has, over time, evolved into our present-day libertarian understanding of constitutional freedoms. Consequently, this seeks to alter our contemporary conceptualization of American legal historyPublication Sacred Symbioses and Feminine Succubi: Humoral Theory and Sexual Intercourse in Early Modern EuropeSilverman, NaomiSocio-medical tools for making sense of gender and sex in Early Modern Europe were grounded in humoralistic concepts traceable from classical medicine. Some modern scholars have analyzed the implications of the sexual dimorphism of humoral properties in terms of women’s status or men’s status. Still, little has focused on the actual interaction between the sexes. I use multiple mid-seventeenth-century treatises on women’s health and a contemporary love poem, as well as earlier humoral musings and recent scholarly works, to explore the role of sexual intercourse in Early Modern women’s humoral health.Publication The Invisible Amendment: The Evolution of the Right to PrivacySpevack, JeremyCiting six landmark Supreme Court cases, this piece argues that the meaning of America’s unwritten right to privacy has changed over time. It follows the right to privacy from its original appearance in an 1891 case between private actors to its application, beginning in the 1960s, against government regulation of intimate activities and bodily autonomy. It concludes with the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, which may mark the beginning of a new chapter for the right to privacy in American law.Publication Jews in Romania Before, During, and After the HolocaustPastorello, MichaelAn examination of Romania’s past reveals a historical pattern of anti-Semitic behavior which tragically culminated in the killing of close to 300,000 Jews during World World II. Under the fascist rule of Ion Antonescu (1940-1944), Romania actively participated in the persecution and extermination of the Jewish population. Initially, discriminatory laws were enacted, but that soon escalated to mass deportations and killings of Romanian Jews. Following the ousting of the fascist regime, a communist government gained control of Romania and ushered the country into a post-war era. This period predominantly focused on distancing the country from their anti-Semitic past using censorship and distorted history. Even today, despite irrefutable evidence, the Romanian public continues to deny the nation’s involvement, often blaming Hitler for the Romanian Holocaust. Although Hitler and the Nazis played a role, Romania’s long-standing anti-Semitic tendencies facilitated collaboration efforts, and resulted in crimes which were independent atrocities perpetrated by leaders and citizens alike. In spite of efforts by later governments to attribute fault solely to the Nazis, Romania must take accountability for its participation in the Holocaust.Publication The Blurriness of Speech at “The Schoolhouse Gate”Hastry, BriannaThe landmark 1969 Supreme Court case, Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District, stated that students do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech and expression at the schoolhouse gate,” so long as the speech does not “materially or substantially interfere with the requirements of appropriate discipline in the operation of the school.”36 However, unlike many precedents set in landmark cases, this ruling has been unclear and contested in ensuing decades. Minors’ free speech rights must be understood in the context of a long, complex, and at times contradictory history of conflicting interpretations, such that, even now, more legal challenges are required to produce a clear set of rules. Through an analysis of a variety of contradicting court cases regarding free speech in schools, the rights of minors more broadly, and “right to know” issues in students’ education, the highly contested nature of minors’ free speech rights, historically and contemporarily, becomes apparent.Publication Violent Reflections: Bloody Mary in 1990s Pop CultureGodinez, MacThe final decade of the 20th century transformed the folk figure of Bloody Mary into a recognizable character on television screens through media like the 1992 film Candyman and the X-Files episode “Syzygy.” This paper explores the extent to which the Bloody Mary character provided a narrative tool to discuss U.S. state violence and brutality. The first section summarizes early academic writing on Bloody Mary to understand how this legend took hold in the United States. The second section traces the contours of the Bloody Mary figure to understand her narrative utility, as well as consider the history and anxieties around children’s divination games in the age of Satanic Panic. The third section looks at the dual nature of 1990s state violence through an increase in militarized police forces alongside disinvestment in social support systems. In the conclusion, this paper analyzes Candyman alongside “Syzygy” to understand how the two approach a fear of vengeance from different ideological attachments to police authority. Throughout the course of this paper, these sections demonstrate how mainstream anxieties about police violence and potentially violent retribution are presented through the familiar and fantastical folk figure of Bloody Mary.Publication The Purpose and Relevance of the Grand NarrativeHastry, BriannaScholars such as Jean-Francis Lyotard often disregard the grand narrative as far too broad to be considered an academic form of history. However, scholars such as Akhil Amar, NikoleHannah Jones, and Dorothy Ross prove otherwise. The grand narrative provides a broad perspective of historical events and answers philosophical questions that may appeal to the way society functions today and brings conversations to the table that may improve society overall. Admired and respected scholars use the grand narrative method to answer questions that add to society’s understanding of history, proving this method to be a useful and academic tool.Publication The Importance of Greek Mythology and Its Impact on Youth Culture in the United States Using Percy Jackson: The Lightning ThiefRichards, Zachary W.Rick Riordan’s work with the Percy Jackson book series presented young readers with a connection to Greek Mythology unparalleled to anything they had experienced before. His work, crafted as an Americanized and easily consumable form of Greek Mythology for young readers, became an integral piece of a culture fixated on ancient classics. This study examines the impact on both the immediate and long-term effects on youth culture within the United States given this newfound interest and interpretation of Greek Mythology. Both ancient works, such as Homer’s Iliad, and contemporary studies, such as Jan Bremmer’s Interpretations of Greek Mythology, are utilized to grasp an understanding of how mythology is integrated into a society’s culture and the lasting impact it may have, particularly with modern consumers. This led to the understanding that mythology may still be very pertinent to our society today, yet in a modern and revolutionized way.Publication History as Debate: An Analysis of Different Approaches to HistoryHackenson, BretHistorical interpretation is the process by which historians analyze historical evidence and craft an explanation of the past. This essay explores unique interpretations of history, including Haskell Fain’s approach to history as science, George M. Trevelyan’s belief in history as education, Karl Marx’s historical materialism, and Alexis de Tocqueville’s comparative history. Comparing each of these approaches reveals that although historians may disagree on how history should be interpreted, each interpretation offers unique insights into historical questions that some historians might not have considered. This condition helps provide complete answers to these historical questions by considering all interpretations, whether they be history as science or education, as materialism or comparisons, or even those not discussed here.Publication Violence in Print: A Brief Look into Violence Against Women as a Plot Device in Livy’s HistoryFoster, CaitlynAncient Rome was a vast empire with a rich culture that has fascinated people for generations. Much of what is known of the early days of Rome is thanks to the work of Titus Livius, a historian living in Rome during the first century CE. Livy, as he is more commonly known, wrote a comprehensive history of Rome, starting with its early mytho-history, detailing Roman legends about its founding and journey to empire. In this early history, Livy discusses many now famous women, however, he treats these women more as plot devices than as actual characters. Using Livy’s translated work, as well as scholarly interpretations, in my article, I aim to examine how Livy uses and even misrepresents the reality of life in Ancient Rome for women in order to further his narrative.Publication THE EVOLUTION OF A MYTH: ROMULUS & REMUSHaskell, LauraMyths offer an explanation of something unknown, as is the case with Rome’s founding myth of Romulus and Remus. The first known record was written four hundred years afterward and survives only as a reference in later material. In each subsequent account from the first, authors contribute the influence of their time to grasp the imaginations of their audience and renew interest in days long past. In 2019, director Matteo Rovere molded the Romulus and Remus myth to suit a modern audience in his film Il Primo Re, using reconstructed Proto-Latin to create an immersive 8th-century experience. Comparing early accounts such as those written by Livius’ and Plutarch, and methods of storytelling through film, we will examine how the myth of Romulus and Remus evolved and adapted to audiences of the past and present.Publication Religiosity and Its Role in Academia: Hindrance or Boon?Usmanova, SevilPublication GENDER, BIOLOGY, AND POWER: SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONS AND WOMANHOODCahill, RobertFor decades, feminist scholars engaged in discourses surrounding women as a biological and social identity. Scholars unpacked normative ideas of womanhood and gender, often drawing very different conclusions from one another. They theorized that womanhood was a social construction to ensure their subservient status to patriarchal institutions. The line between biological and social identity was and still is contentious between scholars. Writers like Judith Butler, Caroline Smith-Rosenberg, and Natalie Zemon Davis analyzed gender constructs in both a theoretical and historical sense and formed their analysis in different ways. Their work breaks down how medical orthodoxies created biological ideas of womanhood and how biology was used as a method to effectively enforce normative ideas of gender. This work seeks to compare the approaches of each scholar and their analysis of womanhood.Publication The Political and Environmental Effects of Oil in NigeriaWhalen, HannahThe year 1956 represents a dramatic shift in economic development for the colony of Nigeria under British rule, for below the Niger Delta lay a rich resource that was yet to be discovered. Nigeria became a protectorate under Britain in 1901 and remained under British colonization until 1960. During the early years, the British pushed for exploration to discover and extract valuable natural resources, predicted to be present in the Niger region. Finally, in 1956, oil was discovered in Oloibiri, and since then oil has become a leading source of economic value in Nigeria. Big oil companies such as Shell BP and private British companies took part in the extraction of Nigerian oil. This extraction led to the pollution of the Niger Delta and its surrounding land. In 1960, Nigeria became independent and took control of most of its oil reserves. Due to the great success of the oil industry, Nigerians chose to move forward with both the legal and illegal extraction of oil in order to continue to maximize their wealth. This paper will discuss how the economic stability of the oil industry became crucial to Nigeria’s survival as a sovereign nation and how, ultimately, the environmental damages were overlooked by the Nigerian government.Publication The Humanism of Dr. Peter ParkerHolmes, Michael B.Publication Publication Publication Publication A Global History of Astrology: Changes in Astrological Trends Through the CenturiesGeremia, Johanna KatharinaThe sky above has been the subject of deep intrigue since the beginning of humanity. Curiosity in celestial objects was just the start of the never-ending search for understanding life. People tracked the rising and setting of the sun, they studied the paths of the planets, they created mathematical calculations to predict an eclipse, and developed countless theories about the shape of the earth and universe. It seems to be a part of human nature to assign meaning to things, so trying to find meaning in the movements of celestial objects should be expected. Astrology is often seen as taboo, many people arguing that the location of the sun at your birth has no effect on your personality or future and that astronomy is the only true study of the sky. But until the Early Modern Era, Astrology and Astronomy were viewed as one, a complete science. Although the practices differed between cultures and with time, the study of the stars was both mathematical and based in belief. I was inspired to write this paper as a recap of a course I took in Tübingen titled “A Global History of Astrology”; taught by Dr. Sky Michael Johnston. This paper is based on the sources used in that class and follows the same general structure and order of the course, as that seems to be the most cohesive way to approach the subject. By the end of this paper, we should have an idea of the trends in astrological practices over the last few millennia and between different cultures and societies.