{"id":1876,"date":"2018-05-05T00:42:25","date_gmt":"2018-05-05T00:42:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/historyblog\/?p=1876"},"modified":"2018-05-05T00:51:44","modified_gmt":"2018-05-05T00:51:44","slug":"the-history-departments-senior-thesis-presentations-of-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/historyblog\/2018\/05\/05\/the-history-departments-senior-thesis-presentations-of-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"The History Department’s Senior Thesis Presentations of 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Gillian Reinhard ’20<\/strong><\/p>\n

Contributing Writer; History Major\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

On Wednesday, May 2, thesis writers from the class of 2018 presented the culmination of their year-long research projects with topics ranging from Russian Communist influence in twentieth-century China to studies of the environment on the New England coast. Each thesis is the result of countless hours of independent study and serves as a significant achievement for a history major.<\/p>\n

The first presenter, Elenore Saunders, introduced her thesis titled \u201cThe Bluefish, an Unsolved History: Spencer Fullerton Baird\u2019s Window into Southern New England\u2019s Coastal Fisheries.\u201d This project examined the bluefish, a species of fish that has historically been tied to the disease epidemics of indigenous populations in early America. Ms. Saunders also explored the negative stigma placed on the species and historical comparisons of the fish to wolves.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Fallacy of Estimates: Bulfinch, Boston, and Debtors\u2019 Prison\u201d by Chris Bulfinch investigated debtors\u2019 prisons in post-Revolution New England. Bulfinch explained the societal stigma rooted in Puritan culture towards debt as well as class struggles of the era. Most interestingly, Ms. Bulfinch profiled his ancestor, Charles Bulfinch, who ultimately designed the prison he was held in. The thesis explored the implications of incarceration in American society.<\/p>\n

Jane Linhares\u2019 \u201cEgyptian Pieces of the Empire’s Puzzle: Peasants, Women, and Students in British Official Documents Issued after the 1919 Revolution in Egypt\u201d explored the British occupation of Egypt and the empire\u2019s focus on peasants, women, and students following the\u00a0revolution. For example, the British hoped to manipulate the concept of oppression of Egyptian women to justify their own colonial claims over the territory. The presentation allowed for a greater understanding of the British empire and its subjects.<\/p>\n

\u201cKing Alfred in Early-Modern Enlightenment Britain: Historiographical Precursors to the Victorian Cult of Alfred\u201d by Ian King observed the legendary figure Alfred the Great and his profound influence on the centuries of British history after his death. Alfred took on many legendary (and not necessarily accurate) roles amongst the British people, including the founder of English Common Law, the founder of the University of Oxford, and the creator of a cohesive Anglo-Saxon identity.<\/p>\n

Sophie Tomaso\u2019s thesis, \u201cUnderstanding Winston Churchill Through His Writings\u201d examined the war memoirs and autobiography of statesman and writer Winston Churchill. Through his writings, Mr. Tomaso argued, Churchill attempted to stylize himself as both a martyr, through his exclusion from politics in the 1930s, and a prophet, based on his predictions of both world wars decades before they occurred. Mr. Tomaso explored a stronger understanding of Churchill\u2019s personality and legacy.<\/p>\n

Charles Tuckwell\u2019s \u201cCombatting Australia\u2019s \u2018Founding Myth\u2019: the Motives Behind the British Settlement of Australia\u201d debunks the popular notion that Australia was colonized by the British as a place to settle convicts. As Mr. Tuckwell explains, Britain had much stronger solutions towards prisoners. Mr. Tuckwell also addressed the massive costs as well as material and nonmaterial gains this massive settlement in Australia created.<\/p>\n

Finally, \u201cBorodin and the Escalator to China\u201d by Caleb Wint presented an analysis of Mikhail Borodin, a Comintern agent who shaped Chinese history in the twentieth century. Mr. Wint elaborated on the impact this figure had on the history of China, given his role as an advisor to Sun Yat-sen. The presentation traced the life of Borodin and his extensive world travels and international knowledge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Gillian Reinhard ’20 Contributing Writer; History Major\u00a0 On Wednesday, May 2, thesis writers from the class of 2018 presented the culmination of their year-long research projects with topics ranging from Russian Communist influence in twentieth-century China to studies of the environment on the New England coast. Each thesis is the result of countless hours … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2171,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8,31,13,25,37,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/historyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1876"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/historyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/historyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/historyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2171"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/historyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1876"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/historyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1888,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/historyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1876\/revisions\/1888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/historyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/historyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/historyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}