History M.A. Thesis

Mar 20, 2012

Poor in Life, Naked in Battle: Athenian Thetes as Psiloi in the Classical Age

Tadlock, Stephen. “Poor in Life, Naked in Battle: Athenian Thetes as Psiloi in the Classical Age.” (Under the direction of Dr. S. Thomas Parker.) Most military and ancient historians have assumed that in Classical Athens the poor of the city, the thetes, served as light-armed troops (psiloi) or rowed in the fleet. A closer look at…

Nov 30, 2011

Tragic Pragmatism: Liberia and the United States, 1971-1985

Casper, Clifford. “Tragic Pragmatism: Liberia and the United States, 1971-1985.” (Under the direction of Dr. Nancy Mitchell.) The thesis focuses on the US-Liberian relationship from 1971-1985, a time when the cold war entered Africa. In 1975, Cuban troops poured into Angola, and in 1977 more Cubans entered Ethiopia. These events affected US relations with Liberia,…

Nov 4, 2011

The Polish Desk: Radio Free Europe, Zbigniew Brzezinksi, and Jimmy Carter’s Polish Policy 1976-1977

Trenor, Brian. “The Polish Desk: Radio Free Europe, Zbigniew Brzezinksi, and Jimmy Carter’s Polish Policy 1976-1977.” (Under the direction of Dr. Nancy Mitchell.) This thesis focuses on Jimmy Carter’s US-Polish policy as developed in the 1976 presidential campaign and employed in 1977. The policy was two-pronged: it sought to encourage both the Polish dissidents and…

May 11, 2011

Reynoldstown: Race, Blight, Disease, Highway Construction and the Transformation of Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Cruise, Shane. “Reynoldstown: Race, Blight, Disease, Highway Construction and the Transformation of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.” (Under the direction of Dr. Blair Lynne Kelley.) Reynoldstown: Race, Blight, Disease, Highway Construction and the Transformation of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, contributes to the historiography of the urban South by exploring the transformation of Winston-Salem between 1948 and 1962. In…

Apr 28, 2011

An Ever Closer Union? European Integration in the Second Half of the Twentieth Century

Popowycz, Jennifer. “An Ever Closer Union? European Integration in the Second Half of the Twentieth Century.” (Under the direction of Dr. Thomas Ort.) In the 1970s three countries from Southern Europe applied to become members of the European Economic Community (EEC), which is now the European Union (EU). Greece, Portugal, and Spain all had newly…

Apr 27, 2011

Vindicating the Confederacy: Confederate Female Spies and their Memoirs 1863-1876

Matthews, Melissa. “Vindicating the Confederacy: Confederate Female Spies and their Memoirs 1863-1876.” (Under the direction of Dr. Susanna Lee.) Belle Boyd, Rose O‟Neal Greenhow and Loreta Velazquez were all Confederate female spies that risked their lives to support the Confederacy. Their memoirs completed either during or after the Civil War are pieces of Confederate propaganda…

Apr 7, 2011

The Twelfth Century Renaissance and the Religion of Intent: Interiority and the Emergence of Selfhood Across Religious Boundaries

Elliot, Serena. “The Twelfth Century Renaissance and the Religion of Intent: Interiority and the Emergence of Selfhood Across Religious Boundaries.” (Under the direction of Dr. Julie Mell.) This thesis explores the emergence of faith statements in both Jewish and Christian culture in the long twelfth century (c. 1050-1200). Such faith statements, found in both cultures…

Mar 16, 2011

“Make the Letters Big and Plain” : A History of Black Education in North Carolina

Duncan, Eric. “‘Make the Letters Big and Plain’ : A History of Black Education in North Carolina.” (Under the direction of Dr. Susanna Lee.) This paper traces the history of black education in North Carolina from the antebellum era through Reconstruction. During the antebellum period, this paper examines how slaves, through largely individual efforts, used…

Jan 5, 2011

The Pains of Withdrawal: Carter and Korea, 1976-1980

Brown, Aaron. “The Pains of Withdrawal: Carter and Korea, 1976-1980.” (Under the direction of Dr. Nancy Mitchell.) This thesis focuses on President Jimmy Carter’s attempt to withdraw American forces from the Korean peninsula. During his presidency (1976-1980), Carter tried unsuccessfully to remove all US ground forces from South Korea. His policy was met with almost…

Oct 28, 2010

Beechland and the Lost Colony

McMullan, Philip. “Beechland and the Lost Colony.” (Under the direction of Dr. Holly Brewer.) In a well known story, Sir Walter Ralegh’s attempt to settle ‘Virginia’ in 1587 became ‘The Lost Colony;’ 117 men, women and children simply disappeared. John White, the colony’s governor, described how the colonists were forced to remain on Roanoke Island…