Honors Projects for History
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Item The Domestication of Blue and White Porcelain as a Representation of China: A Study of Lucy Thurston’s Collection of China in the Hawaiian Mission Houses(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2024) McCall, Maile; Brown, Shana; HistoryItem Recuerdos de España: Confronting Memory and History in Spain and the Monumental Decision to Exhume Francisco Franco(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2020) Sobitz, Steffanie; Hoffenberg, Peter; HistoryThe purpose of the research was to develop a better understanding of the ways in which a nation’s collective memory and history is shaped by Civil Wars and the monuments built to commemorate them. Civil war ravaged Spain from July 1936 until Spring 1939. It was a war of ideologies – conservative, ultra-religious factions rebelled against a newly elected Republican government determined to institute reforms and modernize the nation. The rebels, led by Francisco Franco, were victorious. What ensued was a brutally repressive dictatorship that lasted for nearly 40 years. At the end of the Franco regime, a pact of silence was agreed upon in the spirit of moving forward as a democratic nation. That pact lasted another 40 years, until 2007 when a new law was passed – The Law of Historical Memory. The law aimed to ease the pain families of victims of the war, who had refused to remain silent. At the top of the agenda was to remove all public symbols of Franco and ban public commemorations. The exhumation was proposed, and a fight dragged through the legal system and media for another decade. On September 24, 2019, Spain’s Supreme Court approved the exhumation, and a month later it was done. This paper addresses how the exhumation was affected by and affected the collective memory in Spain, as well as the traditions and beliefs that fueled the debates for decades.Item Recuerdos de Andalusia Expression, Appropriation, and Association in the Layered Architectural History of Medieval Spain(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2020) Rivera-Concannon, Benjamin; Lanzona, Vina; HistoryThe architectural heritage of Medieval Spain, specifically around the period of Islamic rule known as Al-Andalus (711-1492CE) and the following centuries of rule under the Catholic Monarchy, provides an important picture of developments in both stylistic and cultural identity. Many structures and spaces originating from this period of history survive today, and bear the architectural foundations of both Islam and Christianity. The strong artistic, religious, and socio-political identity cultivated by the people of Al-Andalus evolved along stylistic traditions that persisted even after the end of the Reconquista in 1492 CE. The adaptation, appropriation, and destruction of Al-Andalus’ architectural heritage under the rule of Catholic Spain highlights a unique history in which cultural identity, in conjunction with the physical expression of design, overlapped that of preceding and succeeding rulers. Today, these spaces are exemplars of historical layering, and the conflicts between Islam and Christianity in modernity can draw some proactive discourse from a shared history in the region of Andalusia, Spain.Item The Great War and the German-American Communities in Hawai‘i, 1914-1918(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014) Velez, Cheyenne; Hoffenberg, Peter H.; HistoryDuring the Great War (the First World War), fear of Germans ran rampant amongst the Entente Powers, especially in the United States which would officially join the war efforts in 1917. This fear was not only found in the large continental powers near the front lines but also as far as the small Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Many could not have anticipated the severity of the effects on the German communities within the Island chain, which had become a home for many Germans since as early as the mid-1800s. Over the course of the war, many people turned against the German communities in Hawai‘i, despite being so far removed from the battlegrounds in Europe, and it resulted in the marginalization of those communities. This thesis analyzes why that fear existed in Hawai‘i as well as how it followed a similar pattern to what was taking place across the continental U.S. almost simultaneously, namely through “hyphenism” and accusations of spy activity. This thesis also demonstrates how this was due to the changing relationship between the U.S. and Hawai‘i, as Hawai‘i became a U.S. Territory in 1898, thereby allowing for more radical anti-German ideology to permeate the Hawaiian Islands. As we commemorate the centennial anniversary of the start of the War, this research aims to draw awareness to one of the lesser discussed issues of that time period: the history of the marginalization of Germans living in Hawai‘i.Item Henry George’s Contribution to Socialism in America, 1870-1900(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2017-05) Ko, Emily; Hoffenberg, Peter H.; HistoryThe Gilded Age was a period of industrial development in the United States from approximately 1870 to 1900. In many ways, it helped to usher in the modern world. With the large growth in business, there also arose a displacement among workers who were migrating from farms to cities and adapting to new methods of management and business. This dissatisfaction led to the creation of labor unions and the spread of socialism in America. Henry George (1839 to 1897), a political and social leader of this period, was inspired to write his manifesto, Progress and Poverty: An Inquiry into the Cause of Industrial Depressions, and of Increase of Want with Increase of Wealth: The Remedy, by the social conditions he witnessed. Many socialist thinkers during the Gilded Age and since read George’s work and were struck by its socialist leanings. In their writings, most of them conceded that George contributed to bringing socialist ideas to the public with his bestseller. However, some thinkers took issue with his single land tax principle that they judged to be overrated or not radical enough. George has been largely overlooked in the history of the Gilded Age, but during George’s life, Progress and Poverty reached the minds of reformers, politicians, writers, lecturers, and social leaders.Item Masters of La Mode: Representations of Women in the French Fashion Press, 1785-99(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2017-05) Kam, Miranda; Lauzon, Matthew; HistoryThis project examines representations of women in the French fashion press from its beginning in 1785 to Napoleon’s coup d’état in 1799. During the French Revolution, certain women wore ‘masculine’ Revolutionary symbols to facilitate their participation in revolutionary processes. Many saw the actions of these women as threats to masculine citizenship and in 1793, the increased controversy surrounding dress forced the National Convention to declare freedom of dress for all citizens and citizenesses. Some historians have contended that Revolutionary legislators granted women freedom in fashion largely as a substitute for genuine political power in the emerging public sphere. This project argues that although revolutionary processes may have granted women freedom of fashion, the male-dominated fashion press attempted to undermine women’s authority and assert men’s control in an area in which it claimed women possessed legitimate power. Through the close analysis of 18th -century fashion periodicals, this project determines that while fashion periodicals claimed to venerate women and their talents in the realm of fashion, they employed concepts like the relationship between dress and behaviors to dictate women’s dress. Although the fashion press initially celebrated women as the creators and masters of fashion, the fashion press editors later used their professed adoration of women to persuade them to surrender their freedom of dress. By regulating women’s consumptive and sartorial habits, the fashion press helped to alleviate contemporaries’ concerns about women’s participation in the public sphere.Item “If It Were My Way, All This Ought to Be Red”: George Thomas and the Frontier of the British Empire 1781-1802(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2017-12) Miller, Devon; Daniel, Marcus; HistoryIn 1805, a printer in England published a tale of imperialism, conquest and tragic loss from a memoir from Calcutta, India. Sponsored by key figures of the British Indian Administration, the Military Memoirs of Mr. George Thomas tells the story of a poor Irish Catholic boy who, in the midst of the war torn Maratha Empire, India in the 19th Century, carved out his own kingdom on the edge of the Punjabi. Succeeding in the chaotic maelstrom of violence, constantly shifting loyalties and political intrigue, his tale would be considered to be of ‘great interest’ to the British public by contemporaries. This project explores George Thomas’ story, analyzing who this man was, where he fits within his world, and why his story was told through the use of narratives, letters, and governmental debates. While it is clear the author of the memoir wished to portray Thomas as a quintessential British patriot and soldier, it is equally clear that this portrayal of the man was not the reality. Adopting the pretensions of Nationalistic loyalty out of sheer pragmatism, Thomas was a proud, competent and ambitious man who, over the course of his life propagated three imperiums: Mahratta, British, and his own. This project helps us to understand the political reality of the Maratha Empire during 1780-1802 and a 19th Century Catholic Irishman’s understanding of loyalty, honor, self-identity, and his place within his world, allowing us in turn to reflect upon ours.Item Old Wine, New Skins: Models of Roman Leadership in the Court of Charlemagne(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2015-12) Brewbaker, Katarina A.; Jolly, Karen Louise; HistoryModern western society looks back on the Roman Empire as a model for politics, economics, and social relations. The use of the Roman Empire as a foundation for political organization began in the Early Middle Ages with the development of the idea of Christian kingship following the conversion to Christianity of Emperor Constantine (c.747-814). However, early medieval Francia adapted Roman principles selectively, and not primarily on the model of Constantine. During his rule of the Frankish Empire, Charlemagne (c.747-814) and his court consciously chose and incorporated elements from the first Emperor Augustus, as well as borrowed and reused Roman architecture. A comparison of ancient and Frankish historical, biographical, literary, and chronicle sources reveals how Frankish courtiers amended these Roman imperial ideas to establish Charlemagne’s Christian rulership, in part through an educational reform program and the establishment of royal court at Aächen modeled on Ravenna. Set against the backdrop of an emerging Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire, Charlemagne’s court helped establish the legacy of Christian kingship usually attributed to Constantine.Item A Psychological Biography of Lafcadio Hearn(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-09-26) Young, Diane; Akita, George; HistoryDuring his fourteen-year sojourn in Japan, (1890-1904) Lafcadio Hearn produced eleven books and innumerable articles about his adopted homeland, becoming the initial and most legendary interpreter of Japan to the West. His fascination with the mysteries of the Orient commenced upon first viewing the Japanese display at the 1884 New Orleans exposition. The fragile miniature-like artifacts stirred his appreciation for beauty and color and created images of a desired exotic environment. Several years later Hearn read Perceval Lowell's book, The Soul of the Far East, which introduced him to the philosophical stimulation of Asia. Dissatisfied with the progressing modernity and ensuing confusion of New York and encouraged by the promise of Harper's Monthly to publish acceptable material from Japan, he ventured toward the East. Thus accompanied by C. V. Weldon, a Harper's photographer, Lafcadio Hearn; approaching his fortieth birthday, arrived in Yokohama, Japan in the spring of 1890 to live out the remaining fourteen years of his life and write his greatest masterpieces.Item The Constitutional Development of English Parliaments in the Fifteenth Century(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-09-26) Yonamine, Keith; HistoryThe study of fifteenth century English constitutional history covers a period of great political, military, and social turmoil in the era of much-romanticized "War of the Roses." Yet often overshadowed and even ignored, in this century of violence, civil wars, and the general decay of law and order, is the constitutional development that occurred in parliament. The records of fiftieth century England, the Rolls of Parliament, Statutes of the Realm, Paston Letters, and various chronicles, vividly recount the tumultuous acts of armed violence that periodically erupted throughout England during this troubled century. Historians reasoned that this era's lawlessness was due to weakening central government power: The steady decline in the prestige and resources of the monarchy since the end of the fortieth century had brought disaster and decadence to the government, and had made civil wars… inevitable. The extreme weakness of the … king[ship] under Henry VI [r. 1422-61 deposed, 1470-1 deposed, killed] had gravely jeopardized law and justice, administration, and economic development… The fifteenth century opened with the suspicious death (most likely murder) of the unlawfully deposed Richard II (r. 1377-99 and deposed) in 1400, witnessed the reversed fortunes of the English military despite the spectacular victories of the great warrior king, Henry V (r.1413-22), recorded the pitiful reigns of Henry VI (who was twice deposed and ignominiously murdered in 1471), chronicled the successes and failures of the three Yorkist kings Edward IV (r. 1461-70 and deposed; 1471-83 restored), Edward V (reigned, deposed, and probably murdered in 1483), and Richard III (r. 1483-5, killed), and finally closed with the authoritarian but peaceful rule of the shrewd Machiavellian, Henry VII Tudor (r. 1485-1509).