University of Oklahoma Historical Journal
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The University of Oklahoma Historical Journal features the very best work produced by our undergraduate students. The Historical Journal testifies to the intellectual values our department espouses: hard work, rigorous thinking, distinctive style, and academic integrity. Published annually, this peer-reviewed journal is governed by five undergraduate editors who are nominated and elected by the history faculty. Their election to the editorial board recognizes their excellence in a broad variety of history courses at OU and marks their transition from students to intellectual leaders.
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Undergraduate Open Access Stolen Victories, Evaluating the War Cult in Soviet Russia(10/1/12) Riley, Meghan; Blanchard, Tessa; Carter, Michael; Geary, Ryan; Renner, Scott; Riley, Meghan; Folsom, Raphael; Holguín, Sandie; Levenson, AlanMeghan Riley is the inaugural winner of the Griswold Prize. Although the competition for this prize was fierce, the editorial board concurred that Ms. Riley’s essay embodied most clearly the standards of exceptional historical scholarship: an original and compelling argument that employed a variety of primary and secondary sources, an understanding of the historiography in her field, and a lucid and engaging writing style that added that extra touch of elegance to an already sophisticated argument. -Sandie HolguínUndergraduate Open Access The University of Oklahoma Historical Journal(10/1/12) Blanchard, Tessa; Riley, Meghan; Carter, Michael; Geary, Ryan; Renner, Scott; Folsom, Raphael; Holguín, Sandie; Levenson, AlanPreface to the Inaugural Issue of the OU Historical Journal by Raphael B. Folsom, Assistant Professor of HistoryUndergraduate Open Access The Worlds of Monticello Mountain: How Space Reflected Power and Politics on an Eighteenth Century Chesapeake Plantation(10/1/12) Pittman, Kayla; Blanchard, Tessa; Carter, Michael; Geary, Ryan; Renner, Scott; Riley, Meghan; Folsom, Raphael; Holguín, Sandie; Levenson, AlanThis distinguished article reminds us that written texts are not the only historical evidence available to us. The author makes creative use of visual and archaeological sources in conjunction with cutting-edge theories of space and place to show us how Monticello's architecture reflected the inner workings of its designer's mind. Thomas Jefferson is among our most important, and hence most thoroughly studied, presidents. This paper performs the remarkable feat of offering new insights on topics we thought were deeply familiar. With the rigor and playfulness of a fine art critic, Kayla Pittman makes the familiar strange. -Raphael FolsomUndergraduate Open Access The Influence of Indigenous Artistis in the Maps of the Relaciones Geográficas(10/1/12) Brockway, Mark; Blanchard, Tessa; Carter, Michael; Geary, Ryan; Renner, Scott; Riley, Meghan; Folsom, Raphael; Holguín, Sandie; Levenson, AlanIn the late sixteenth century the Spanish cosmographer López de Velasco ordered maps of cities and towns in America to be produced and returned to Spain to gain a more accurate understanding of Spanish territory in the New World. His instructions known as the Relación Geográfica questionnaire was disseminated to local officials in towns across the Viceroys of New Spain and Peru. In some cases Spanish government officials living in the Americas enlisted indigenous artists and cartographers, particularly those in New Spain. As a result, the maps vary in distinct ways from Spanish and European maps of the same time period. By analyzing the differences in the two types of maps, it becomes possible to gain a unique perspective into spatial viewpoints of native peoples in early colonial America. My research is aimed at describing specific spatial patterns of representation used by indigenous artists in depicting early Latin American towns. These maps communicated many aspects of indigenous art and thought back to the Iberian Peninsula.Undergraduate Open Access Who's the Imperialist? American Marxists Respond to the Russo-Finnish War(10/1/12) Moore, Nathan; Blanchard, Tessa; Carter, Michael; Geary, Ryan; Renner, Scott; Riley, Meghan; Folsom, Raphael; Holguín, Sandie; Levenson, AlanIn this paper, Nathan Moore explores the complicated question of how American communists responded to the Soviet Union’s 1939-1940 invasion of Finland, and reveals its long-lasting consequences in American political discourse. Using clear and concise prose, Moore painstakingly examines the reactions of the Communist Party of the United States, the Socialist Workers Party Majority, and the Socialist Workers Party Minority to the Winter War and argues that each faction’s response depended on how it defined ‘imperialism.’ Drawing on detailed analyses of primary source documents, this paper constitutes an original contribution to the literature on the international impact of the Winter War. -Meghan RileyUndergraduate Open Access The Death Dealer(10/1/12) Carter, Michael Lewis; Blanchard, Tessa; Carter, Michael; Geary, Ryan; Renner, Scott; Riley, Meghan; Folsom, Raphael; Holguín, Sandie; Levenson, AlanThe post-war confessions of Rudolf Höss, who, as commandant of Auschwitz, supervised the mass killing of Jews, however, invite readers to re-examine the role of evil as part of the historical commentary on the SS. In Hössʼs memoir, The Death Dealer: The Memoirs of the SS Kommandant at Auschwitz, written in a Polish prison between October 1946 and April 1947, Höss makes no attempt to conceal his crimes. Placing them in the context of careerism and the values of military service, Höss posits that he and other soldiers are in many respects not dissimilar from us. Rather, his actions belong to the current of duty to country, self-sacrifice and obedience that remains an intrinsic, yet problematic, part of military culture in armies including our own.Undergraduate Open Access The Legacy of Honor in War(10/1/12) Blanchard, Tessa J; Blanchard, Tessa; Carter, Michael; Geary, Ryan; Renner, Scott; Riley, Meghan; Folsom, Raphael; Holguín, Sandie; Levenson, AlanFrom the earliest accounts of warfare, honor has been central to the warrior ethos. But is honor today the same as it was thousands of years ago? From the Iliad to the Peloponnesian War, from the Romans to the Crusaders, and from the Victorians to the soldiers of World War I, honor has shaped warrior’s conduct profoundly. While honor may mean different things to each culture, the core of honor has always been courage on the battlefield, but many facets of the idea, such as of virtue, religion, and how a soldier ought to defend his honor, have changed over time.Undergraduate Open Access The Bases The Story of Norman's Naval Bases during 1942(10/1/12) Edwards, Breanna; Blanchard, Tessa; Carter, Michael; Geary, Ryan; Renner, Scott; Riley, Meghan; Folsom, Raphael; Holguín, Sandie; Levenson, AlanThis paper was selected because it exemplifies good storytelling. The author, Breanna Edwards, traces the establishment of several naval bases in Norman, Oklahoma through reports in the local newspaper in 1942. From the first reports of the coming construction projects, to the Navy Day parade in which the city and its new naval residents celebrated together, Edwards traces the story of the development of the bases and what they meant to the city of Norman at different points. “The Bases” demonstrates that good historical writing does not just point out facts, but connects them into a story that communicates to the reader how people of the day experienced the events and why. -Tessa BlanchardUndergraduate Open Access Famine, Genocide, and Memory: Ukrainians and the Commemoration of the 1932-1933 Holodomor(10/1/12) Schmidt, Taylor; Blanchard, Tessa; Carter, Michael; Geary, Ryan; Renner, Scott; Riley, Meghan; Folsom, Raphael; Holguín, Sandie; Levenson, AlanHistory is political. Never has this been truer than in the former Soviet Union, where the past was subject to incessant ‘revisions.’ Mr. Schmidt takes on the Ukrainian famine, or Holodomor, from an international perspective, and does so quite thoroughly. As the paper unfolds, the reader comes to realize how inextricably entwined Ukranian identity is with this event. Genocide perpetrated on Ukranian people, or unintended pan-Soviet tragedy, the Holodomor’s political implications reach across oceans. The paper distinguishes itself with its in depth research and the author’s acute sensitivity to the gravity of the topic he so brilliantly explores. - Ryan GearyUndergraduate Open Access Intersections of Anarcho-Feminism: Emma Goldman, Mujeras Libres, and the Spanish Civil War(10/1/13) Wright, Alexandra; Scheller, Austin; Ross, Madeline; Tenney, Lena; Renner, Scott; Conklin, Madison; Long, Madison; Moore, Nathan; Folsom, Raphael; Holguín, Sandie; Levenson, AlanIn this paper, Alexandra Wright evokes a feminist movement that flared to life in 1930’s Spain, burned brightly amid the political chaos of the Spanish Civil War, and just as quickly burned out. Emma Goldman’s sexually based anarcho-feminism was too hot for mainstream Spanish women to handle. But like the flash of an explosion, this radical ideology left a bright spot in the vision of Spain’s women for years to come. The possibilities that emerged in Goldman’s movement for women’s liberation, women’s advancement, women’s involvement in the great political issues of their day were a precedent for future feminist pioneers. Wright’s research is thorough, her analysis evenhanded, and her exposition sparklingly clear. –Raphael FolsomUndergraduate Open Access Plague and Population in Early Medieval Europe(10/1/13) Anderson, Skyler; Scheller, Austin; Ross, Madeline; Tenney, Lena; Renner, Scott; Conklin, Madison; Long, Madison; Moore, Nathan; Folsom, Raphael; Holguín, Sandie; Levenson, AlanThis meticulous and compelling paper shows that late antiquity and the incipient dark ages glimmered with more prosperity than most scholars have realized. Even as plague decimated the Mediterranean world, certain areas and peoples were better able to weather the onlsaught than others were, and thus drew strength from the weakness of their neighbors. Artfully weaving together textual sources with advanced scholarship and research on the physical health of the diverse societies of Justinian’s world, Anderson brings this complicated age into sharp focus. Like the best historians, Anderson reconciles a sharply articulated new argument with sensitivity to the complexities of the past. –Raphael FolsomUndergraduate Open Access Ad Fontes: A New Role for the Primary Sources in Anglo-Saxon History(10/1/13) Renner, Scott; Scheller, Austin; Ross, Madeline; Tenney, Lena; Renner, Scott; Conklin, Madison; Long, Madison; Moore, Nathan; Folsom, Raphael; Holguín, Sandie; Levenson, AlanScott Renner’s extraordinarily sophisticated article, “Ad Fontes, A New Role for the Primary Sources in Anglo-Saxon History,” is the winner of this year’s Griswold Prize for Excellence. Renner displays uncommon command of both qualitative and quantitative methods, spinning a facinating tale from the stuff of archaeological and genetic data. In his hands, ancient texts long thought to have exhausted by earlier generations of interpreters, are made fresh and revealing. –Raphael FolsomUndergraduate Open Access The University of Oklahoma Historical Journal(10/1/13) Scheller, Austin; Ross, Madeline; Tenney, Lena; Renner, Scott; Conklin, Madison; Long, Madison; Moore, Nathan; Folsom, Raphael; Holguín, Sandie; Levenson, AlanPreface to the Second Issue of the OU Historical Journal by Jamie Hart, Chair, University of Oklahoma Department of HistoryUndergraduate Open Access The Post-Conflict Transformation of Gender Norms in Nicaragua(10/1/13) Kerwin, Helen; Scheller, Austin; Ross, Madeline; Tenney, Lena; Renner, Scott; Conklin, Madison; Long, Madison; Moore, Nathan; Folsom, Raphael; Holguín, Sandie; Levenson, AlanHelen Kerwin’s engaging and informative article elucidates the recent social and political history of Nicaragua. But she accomplishes more than this single task. She also contributes to the history and theory of women and revolution. Ms. Kerwin demonstrates the ironies of “revolutionary war” in addition to further exposing the uncertainty in the very notion of female liberation: should a project of liberation free women from the strictures of their traditional roles, or free them to fill those roles more successfully? Her work showcases the ability of historical writing not only to educate about the past but to provoke thought about the present and the future. –Austin SchellerUndergraduate Open Access The Impact of Failed Lesbian Feminist Ideology and Rhetoric(10/1/13) Shannahan, Katy; Scheller, Austin; Ross, Madeline; Tenney, Lena; Renner, Scott; Conklin, Madison; Long, Madison; Moore, Nathan; Folsom, Raphael; Holguín, Sandie; Levenson, Alan"The Impact of Failed Lesbian Feminist Ideology and Rhetoric" is a sophisticated analysis of the politics of lesbian feminism. Lesbian feminism, a radical feminist separatist movement that emerged as part of second-wave feminism, advocated that all feminists should embrace a lesbian identity in order to break apart the chains of patriarchy.By examining the writings of lesbian feminists such as Radical lesbians and the Leeds Revolutionary Group (and their critics), Shannahan, convincingly argues that lesbian feminism was not solely "an isolated and outdated form of feminism," but rather a movement that served as a gadfly that "helped to shape the direction of the mainstream feminist movement." –Sandie HolguínUndergraduate Open Access A Church Divided: American Catholics and the Equal Rights Amendment(10/1/13) Tenney, Lena; Scheller, Austin; Ross, Madeline; Tenney, Lena; Renner, Scott; Conklin, Madison; Long, Madison; Moore, Nathan; Folsom, Raphael; Holguín, Sandie; Levenson, AlanReligion and Equal Rights are topics that have been relevant throughout history up until the present day. Ms. Tenney’s thoughtful look at the divisions caused by the ERA within the Catholic Church is an excellent piece of both religious studies and historical scholarship. Her paper is an example of thorough research, quality writing and comprehensive analysis. –Madison ConklinUndergraduate Open Access Bad Neighbors: A Look into the Complex Relations within the Creek Nation through the Acorn Whistler Crisis(4/1/14) Hamilton, Brooke; Collins, Adriana; Dixon, Arthur; Hamilton, Brooke; Rodríguez, Monique; McCullogh, Morgan; Scheller, Austin; Folsom, Raphael; Griswold, Robert; Olberding, GarretIn “Bad Neighbors: A Look into the Complex Relations within the Creek Nation through the Acorn Whistler Crisis of 1752,” Brooke Hamilton unveils a gripping mid-eighteenth century tale of intrigue and deception, in which an enduring property dispute almost ends in open hostilities between the Creek Indians and the Georgia government. The origins of the plot, hatched by the devious Bosomworth family to take greater control of the eastern trading path from Charleston to Creek country, tap deeply into disagreements between two neighboring tribes, the Cowetas and Cussetas, both striving to be the predominant clan among the Lower Creeks. Masterfully engaging current scholarship, Hamilton narrates how greed and tribal resentments precipitated the vicious sacrifice of an Upper Creek headman, Acorn Whistler. –Garret OlberdingUndergraduate Open Access An Ambivalent Revolution: A Review of Capitalism, God, and a Good Cigar(4/1/14) Rodriguez, Monique; Collins, Adriana; Dixon, Arthur; Hamilton, Brooke; Rodríguez, Monique; McCullogh, Morgan; Scheller, Austin; Folsom, Raphael; Griswold, Robert; Olberding, GarretAny analysis of postrevolutionary Cuba, the first socialist republic to rise in Latin America, is inherently political. The volatile and lively debates surrounding the island nation's successes and failures spark up with new vigor each time a study is published, like a flame fed gasoline. Lydia Chávez, a professor at the University of California, brought a group of journalism students to Cuba to teach them how to report on foreign affairs in 2001. This visit became the basis for this book. It portrays Cuba as still in the midst of a transition that should have been concluded soon after the end of the revolution in 1959. To merely say Cuba is between capitalism and socialism would not quite capture the complex reality on the ground. Socialism developed unevenly in the decades following the revolution; aspects of capitalism disappeared and reappeared in new forms as the US embargo and fall of the USSR took its toll on the country. Chávez sees this uneven development best embodied in her memory of poor children with eyeglasses begging for dollars. People who are starving still receive other types of healthcare. Cuba is full of seeming contradictions. This book, a collection of impressions of Cuban society written by her students, has much to contribute to the debate but falls short of providing a complete view of Cuban society in the twentieth century.Undergraduate Open Access Benjamin Franklin and George Adams, Jr.: Enlightened Entrepeneurs(4/1/14) Wilson, Connor; Collins, Adriana; Dixon, Arthur; Hamilton, Brooke; Rodríguez, Monique; McCullogh, Morgan; Scheller, Austin; Folsom, Raphael; Griswold, Robert; Olberding, GarretIn “Benjamin Franklin and George Adams, Jr.: Enlightenment Entrepreneurs,” Connor Wilson shows us that in the Early Republic, science was used to capture both the public’s imagination and pocketbooks. Making deft use of the writings of two Enlightenment scientists, Wilson shows that his subjects were not simply acting on altruistic motives, but worked to create a scientific literature that could be marketed to mass audiences. Examining an issue that historians have long overlooked, Wilson demonstrates that science in the Enlightenment created a tradition of a profitable and educational inquiry that has had lasting effects on scientific practice. –Morgan McCulloughUndergraduate Open Access Hugo Falcandus, the History of Tyrants, and the Normalization of Norman Sicily(4/1/14) Dixon, Arthur; Collins, Adriana; Dixon, Arthur; Hamilton, Brooke; Rodríguez, Monique; McCullogh, Morgan; Scheller, Austin; Folsom, Raphael; Griswold, Robert; Olberding, GarretIn “Hugo Falcandus, the History of the Tyrants, and the Normalization of Norman Sicily,” Arthur Dixon tackles a complex period in history with concise analysis and provides unexpected insight. He elucidates the ways in which Norman Sicily, once distinct from other models of medieval European civilization in the twelfth century, was transformed during the reigns of William I “the Bad” and William II “the Good” by increasing presence of Latin Christians from mainland Europe and the influence of the Sicilian elite. The normalization in Sicily is a story of nobles plotting against “abnormal” leaders and orchestrating the creation of a politically, culturally, and socially typical European kingdom. His sophisticated analysis and inventive use of sources that many would cast aside makes this paper exceptional. –Monique Rodríguez