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    Efforts, past and present, to stop the spread of a disease: a comparison of cholera and COVID-19
    (2021) Danyleyko, Andrew; Forth, Aidan
    Before scientific understanding was fully realized, the common belief about the causes of sickness were misunderstood and were often attributed to supernatural forces. Thanks to the efforts of doctors in London during the cholera outbreak in 1854, people now have a better understanding of what causes diseases, how they spread, and how that information can be used to save lives. This paper will show how Dr. Jon Snow’s contributions to epidemiology are just as relevant today regarding COVID-19 as they were when they were first proposed in 1854 for cholera.
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    Trusting science in the face of disease: COVID-19 and 19th century cholera
    (2021) Miller, Hailey; Forth, Aidan
    This essay highlights the similarities between the cholera pandemic in 19th century Britain, and the COVID pandemic that we are currently facing. It mostly covers the changing practices in science and how the cholera pandemic can be used as a case study to help with the modern reactions towards COVID-19.
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    Infodemics during plague and pandemic: a comparison study of misinformation during the Black Death of 1665 and COVID-19
    (2021) Madsen, Isabelle; Forth, Aidan
    Starting in 1665 and ending in 1666, London had an episode of the Bubonic plague that left 100,000 Londoners dead. The 1665 Black Death was not the first time England faced a mass outbreak, but it proved to be a swiftly spreading disease that was running rampant in a city that was also rife with misinformation, suspicion, and faulty cures that only increased the death count. Many factors contributed to people’s willingness to embrace false and hokey remedies; plagues carry a history of conspiracy, and with every outbreak, more theories come into being. The accompanying surge of fraudulent cures only served to increase the panic Londoners felt. A similar situation has become prevalent in the current COVID-19 outbreak; the internet and social media have allowed for the mass consumption of misinformation that negatively affects public health and safety.
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    “Carry on”: state censorship and denial of Spanish influenza In Great Britain (1918-19)
    (2021) Beltranena, Daniel; Forth, Aidan
    From 1918-20, Spanish Influenza created a mass world pandemic during the end of World War I and its immediate aftermath. Looking at Great Britain as an example of the period, it is argued that the virus has often been forgotten as a result of press censorship and state denial in a time when countries could not afford to look weak.
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    “Carry on”: state censorship and denial of Spanish influenza In Great Britain (1918-19)
    (2021) Beltranena, Daniel; Forth, Aidan
    From 1918-20, Spanish Influenza created a mass world pandemic during the end of World War I and its immediate aftermath. Looking at Great Britain as an example of the period, it is argued that the virus has often been forgotten as a result of press censorship and state denial in a time when countries could not afford to look weak.
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    A sphere of one's own: the eighteenth-century shift from a one- to a two-sex model of sexual difference
    (2020) Aquin, Carley
    Drawing on a selection of primary and secondary sources, this paper extends Thomas Laqueur’s thesis that theories of sexual difference evolved from a one-sex to a two-sex model in the late eighteenth century by examining the political implications of this shift. Specifically, it will survey how proponents of the former model, such as Olympe de Gouges and Marquis de Condorcet, tended to dominate the moderate stage of the French Revolution, only to be violently excised from the public sphere during the radical Jacobin phase when Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s two-sex ideas about "natural" gender roles gained ascendance. The consequences of this shift were long-lasting, as France's "republican mothers" were shunted into the private sphere and denied the vote well into the twentieth century.
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    The legacy of Clytemnestra in Homer’s Odyssey
    (2020) Buttery, Leanne; Garstad, Benjamin
    In Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, the author places Clytemnestra in stark opposition to Penelope, the wife of the epic’s hero, Odysseus. Clytemnestra, the wife of King Agamemnon, cheated on her husband and killed him upon his return from the Trojan war; an action that placed her in the category of a ‘bad wife.’ In contrast, Penelope uses her autonomy to stay within the traditional social roles of a good Greek wife. Penelope is compared with Clytemnestra and found equal to her, yet above her in morality – for she never betrays Odysseus. Even though Penelope does not act like Clytemnestra, the consequences of Clytemnestra’s action damage the reputation of not only Penelope but of all women. Despite his trust in Penelope, Odysseus treats her with suspicion until the end of the epic – as if she too may betray him. This paper will explain how the legacy of Clytemnestra’s actions impacted Penelope throughout the rest of the epic. In order to fully contextualize the power of Clytemnestra’s actions, this paper will analyze how the literary representation of women in classical works expressed the belief that women by nature behaved like Clytemnestra. Regardless of the faithfulness of Penelope, she remains under the cloud of a bad wife because all women – even good ones – cannot be trusted.
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    Terror without virtue is powerless: decoding Robespierre’s Festival of the Supreme Being (June 1794)
    (2020) La Vergne, Michelle
    This paper will decode Maximilien Robespierre’s deistic cult, the Festival of the Supreme Being, a seemingly bizarre public ritual that was held at the height of the Great Terror on 20 Prairial Year II (June 1794). The Festival of the Supreme Being was staged by the Jacobin leader Robespierre, aided by the artist Jacques-Louis David, in an attempt to unify the French Republic’s citizenry during a particularly unstable time in the Revolution. Inspired by David's neo-classical masterpieces, such as The Oath of the Horatii, the festival used imagery from ancient Rome to emphasize the importance of civic virtue among a patriotic citizenry. A necessary counterpart to the Jacobins' campaign of terror against the Republic's myriad enemies, Robespierre's attempts to develop Parisians' civic virtue was designed to save the Republic by transforming passive subjects into active citizens. I will interpret this carefully orchestrated event as a parable of republican virtue by examining its use of classical symbols and the distinctive roles assigned to men, women and children in the festival.
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    The historiographical afterlives of Maximilien Robespierre
    (2019) Jackson, Bailea; Summers, Kelly
    Based on the Independent Study I am completing, my presentation will explore how interpretations of the French Revolutionary leader Maximilien Robespierre have varied across time and place. I attempt to tease out some of the connections between scholarly and popular interpretations and their respective historical and historiographical contexts.
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    A crime of fashion: social mobility and the second hand clothing trade in early modern England
    (2019) Riehl, Abby; Falconer, Robert
    Through exploring the ideologies behind the sumptuary laws, the development of the second-hand economy, and the method through which goods came into it, this essay will consider the idea of social mobility as attained through the buying and selling of luxury clothing. Looking primarily at the working poor, though also drawing from the expanding middling class, this essay will consider the realities of the opportunities offered by the existence of the second-hand economy, and whether or not any tangible form of social mobility was indeed attainable through them.
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    Immobilizing the Catholic foe: a ‘popery’ of protestation in London 1780
    (2016) Weisenberger, Hannah Anina
    The Gordon Riots of 1778 were one of the most violent public demonstrations of the century in London, and represent the culmination of an explosive religious and political climate in late 18th century England. This paper examines the nature and extent of the riots as well as details of specific rioters to shed light on the fact that even among London’s lower orders there existed a deep and complex set of beliefs about how British society should be structured. While on the surface the riots may appear to be simply yet another expression of xenophobia, they were connected to a growing nationalism tied to religion, global economics, and a strained domestic situation. I argue that the methodical, discriminate nature of the riots reflects the deeply held belief in the rightful supremacy of Protestantism as essential to the identity and security of Britain and demonstrates that anti-Catholicism could unify different social classes under a single cause.
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    Divisions in Treaty 6 perspectives: the dilemma of written text and oral tradition
    (2016) Wing, Miriam Lily
    Since the signing of Treaty 6 in 1876, there has been ongoing controversy between the First Nations and the Canadian government regarding the understanding and fulfillment of the treaty terms. Through investigating both historical texts and oral tradition, this article hopes to give insight on the modern dilemma of treaty rights in the specific case of Treaty 6. In order for the most accurate understanding of Treaty 6 to be obtained, First Nations oral tradition and perspectives must be considered as valid evidence.
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    Learning in a digital age
    (2017) Capstick, Shirelle; Hannan, Sean
    I will endeavour to express my view that using digital media has helped me in my studies. Using digital tools alongside typical techniques of study allows for a broader range of view on a subject. Not only does it allow a greater research base for information but it also offers different points of view that can be used for clarification or clearer understanding.
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    Britain and the creation of Israel
    (2009) Ellett, Mark