University of Massachusetts Undergraduate History Journal: Volume 8, Issue 1
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2025
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An Old Song: Analyzing Hadestown
(2025-03) Ne'eman, Yasmin
There is little doubt that adaptations of ancient myths have become more mainstream in recent years–providing unique, accessible ways for people to learn more about stories from antiquity. One such adaptation takes the form of a Broadway show: Hadestown, written by Anaïs Mitchell. This paper explores some of the significant ways in which Hadestown has taken its ancient Greek source material–the myths of two mortals named Orpheus and Eurydice, as well as the two divinities Hades and Persephone–and modernized it for a contemporary audience in a way that retains the heart and meaning of both stories. The paper deems Hadestown to be a successful adaptation through analyzing the musical’s key plot points, the four primary characters along with their relationships, and the ways that Mitchell has thematically altered her iteration of the tale.
South American Battleground: Soviet and American Involvement in Chile During the Cold War
(2025-03) Scher, Jonah
The twentieth century was a period marred with violence and struggles for power beyond what was seen in the past. This affected all regions of the world through two World Wars and a nearly half-century long conflict between two world powers: the United States and the Soviet Union. Chile was one area of the world where this struggle came to a head, but not in an entirely apparent manner. This paper seeks to examine both the United States and the Soviet Union’s role in influencing Chilean politics, and how it affected their society, in both overt and covert ways. Beginning with the Gabriel Gonzalez Videla administration in the mid to late 1940s and ending with the fall of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship in 1990, this paper demonstrates how Chile can be viewed as one microcosm of the global struggle between American and Soviet dominance and how democracies can turn into dictatorships overnight.
Of Kith and Kin: Correlations Between the Medieval Family Under Feudalism and the Colonial Family
(2025-03) Robertson, Katie L.
The relationship between later European Medieval families alongside early Euro-American families is often ignored, but their individual dynamics represent institutionalized change, and gives insight to socio-economic and cultural shifts. This essay explores the basic structure of Feudal families and how these structures are compared and translated into the initial independent American families. Not only will the essay discuss the “modern” analysis of how the medieval period was defined, but will also map where that definition began to change. These findings can be used broadly to research past the modern–post industrial family–model, and the implications that Feudalism had on early American socio-economic structures, as well as how this has been reflected in several generations of family archetypes.
Qualms of Academia: Zinn's Doctrine vs. Scholarly Orthodoxy
(2025-03) Valade, Christian Rasmus
Howard Zinn has become one of the most well-known historians by providing an alternative perspective to the teaching of American History that has received both outstanding praise and great criticism. Zinn’s work not only provides an altering perspective throughout various historical narratives, but it also provides an alternative to the restrictive philosophies of academic orthodoxy that persist in the university and in everyday life. This paper discusses Zinn’s Historiography, philosophy, and ethics in light of criticisms of other Historians as well as the aforementioned expectations of academia to be “neutral” or “objective” in the teaching of History. This paper demonstrates the nuances of Zinn's philosophy and perspective on what it really means to not just be a productive historian but to be a productive member in any profession and within society as a whole.