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In analyzing the 1989 bicentennial in Paris, my point of departure has been that the French government, faced with the cool reception to the memory of the Revolution of 1789, was trying to make revolutionary heritage relevant to contemporary concerns, by using allegorical techniques of spatializing and visualizing history while consequently (yet paradoxically, since it ran against their intentions) effecting a smooth passage for this heritage into the world of commodity and spectacle. To analyze this dilemma, I investigated the mechanisms of representation and the tension between spectacle and politically engaged imagery. Drawing from the work of Water Benjamin, the thesis proposed to use allegory as a mode of political criticism and redemptive interpretation. The analysis of the programming of events, for example, revealed that it contained a moral tale of sacrifice, and praised the power of the memory of the Revolution to form a community, not based on ethnicity or shared history but on shared ideals. The analysis of the use of collage in the Bastille Day Parade revealed that it reworked Republican notions of ‘fraternity in a post-colonial era to reflect contemporary discussions of métissage and take a position on its relationship to democracy. By looking at this commemoration allegorically, the double meanings inscribed in the bicentennial program, exhibits, monuments and parade can be unpacked. But the allegorical critique is violent, it does not carefully excavate layers of meaning through a gentle and constructive hermeneutic circle, it requires that the objects that are being contemplated be in fragments. As the allegorist reassembles the fragments into new meaningful constellations, the constructions remain open, driven by the impossibility of recovering what has been lost, always pointing to the instability of meaning. The analysis of the commemoration recognized that commodification and spectacularisation happen, but through reversal it also showed that the 1989 bicentennial draws from a constantly evolving relationship to memory which allows for investment on the part of the public. Because the commemoration is a powerful form of visualizing and spatializing history that occurs in public spaces, many provocative images were taken up by the press and written about, which ultimately reconfigured present-day discussions about democracy and citizenship.

This dissertation is about the Loyalist Regiments of the American Revolution, 1775-1783. These were the formal regiments formed by the British, consisting of Americans who stayed Loyal to the British crown during the American Revolutionary War. They fought in most of the main campaigns of this war and in 1783 left with the British Army for Canada, where many of them settled. The Loyalist regiments have been neglected by academic historians with only one major work on them as a group. The intention of this dissertation is to give them their proper place in the historiography of the American Revolutionary War and of eighteenth century military history. The dissertation is laid out in the following way. Chapter one, will be an overview of the history of Regiments, from their origins in Colonial days until 1783. It will assess how they were dealt with by the British and examine both organisation and combat. Chapter two is a thematic chapter looking principally at the organisation of the regiments as well as their motivation and composition. The next four chapters are case studies of three Loyalist regiments. Chapters three and four are a case study of the Queens Rangers. A database of all the soldiers who served in this regiment was created and is included with this dissertation. Chapter five is about the controversial regiment, the British Legion. Chapter 6 is a case study of the frontier regiment Butler‘s Rangers.

The purpose of this study was to investigate newspaper poetry appearing in selected British colonial newspapers from the Stamp Act crisis of 1765 through July, 1776, to reflect upon the political implications of that poetry, and to assess its use as a propaganda vehicle by both sides in the conflict between Great Britain and her thirteen American colonies.Newspapers were selected on the basis of regional location and political viewpoint. Newspapers from New England, the Middle Atlantic colonies, and from the Southern colonies were reviewed for the study. The political views of the newspapers ranged from those staunchly loyal to Great Britain to those which consistently opposed British policies in the colonies.The political poetry published in colonial newspapers followed the popular literary fashions of the day. Neo-classical forms such as the pastoral eclogue and the rhymed conplet appeared frequently. Ballads and songs were popular and their lyrics were printed in colonial newspapers. Strong literary influences in political poetry were Samuel Butler's Hudibras, the works of Charles Churchill, and Alexander Pope.Political poetry appeared regularly in most British colonial newspapers. It was found that political poetry was published more frequently when the conflict between Great Britain and her American colonies grew more intense. Crises such as the Stamp Act, the Townshend Acts, the Boston Tea Party, and the so-called "Intolerable Acts" produced a greater volume of political poetry than did the quieter periods between those crises.Political poetry was used as a propaganda device to praise and to attack political and military leaders of both sides in the conflict. Two of the favorite targets of anti-British writers were Thomas Hutchinson and General Thomas Gage the last royal governors of Massachusetts. George Washington, John Hancock, and other colonial leaders were praised by their supporters and satirized by the Loyalists. King George III, who had not been openly attacked until independence was being actively considered, became the subject of vicious poetic attack by early 1776.The armed conflict between the colonies and Great Britain began with Lexington and Concord in April, 1775. From that time through July, 1776, the content of political poetry in colonial newspapers reflected nearly every major event both military and political. Particular attention was given to military heroes, especially those, such as General Richard Montgomery, who were killed in battle. 'she very frequency with which political poetry appeared in colonial newspapers was an indicator of its importance as a propaganda vehicle.The struggle between Loyalist and Whig on the political level was joined at the editorial level as well. Whig editors such as Benjamin Edes, Isaiah Thomas, and Peter Timothy were not sparing in their attacks on the Tory press. They were answered in kind by Tory editors such as Richard Draper, James Rinington and Hugh Gaine. Their conflicts became a subject for political poetry. By 1775 the Loyalist press had been forced to cease publication.Newspapers carried the bulk of revolutionary propaganda. Because they reprinted news from many sources, newspapers gave the public a colony-wide view. Most newspapers printed political poetry; some even carried regular poetry sections, the contents of which were frequently related to the political events of the time. The space given to poetry in colonial newspapers of the period was enormous compared with modern newspapers. The space and position of poetry in the newspapers added another dimension to the use of poetry as a propaganda vehicle.Poetry was not only published in newspapers, it was published as broadsides, in magazines, and in pamphlets. Poetry was also a regular part of the celebrations of various political groups during the period. Poetry became, for organizations such as the Sons of Liberty, an almost ritualistic part of their meetings. Poetry had a wide appeal to many groups within the society of the time.In view of the wide appeal of poetry, its versatility and universality as a propaganda vehicle, and its wide distribution throughout the colonies; it became obvious that political poetry and, more specifically, that poetry which appeared in colonial newspapers, was an effective and integral weapon for both sides in the propaganda war waged between 1765 and 1776.

This study deals with Gertrud Kolmar's literary texts, those that center upon the topic of the French Revolution. It endeavors to examine her poetic discourse dealing with the possibility of an alternative political leadership in a time of crisis. The texts comprise the essay "Bildnis Robespierres," the Robespierre cycle of poems, and the play Cecile Renault. These texts, in which Robespierre takes center stage, stand out from within the complete works of Kolmar. They were written between the fall of 1933 and March 1935 and may be read as texts of resistance against the Nazi dictatorship. / Since these texts have to be seen as a direct reaction to the historical developments of the period, they are being closely examined herein, hoping to unearth their political and ideological intent. Drawing upon the theories and conclusions of New Historicism, which assumes that the writer and her subject cannot exist outside their socio-historical environment, important historical influences have been taken into consideration, in an effort to establish possible aspects that have entered into Kolmar's literary message. / A close reading of these texts demonstrates that, by first using the genre of the essay, Kolmar searched for a positive alternative paradigm of power to counter the fascist totalitarian regime. She finds this ideal in the figure of Robespierre because of his virtue and strong sense of justice. Because Kolmar interprets the Revolution as incomplete--since the Jacobin adhered to his principles up to his death--these texts may be considered as a revolutionary call to take up the fight for human rights once again. In her poems, Kolmar poetically creates a model of ideal leadership in the figure of Robespierre. She propagates his strict and harsh rule, as he presented himself to his fellow citizens and accepts violence as necessary in order to establish justice. Thus, Kolmar's model is problematic, since it mirrors, and therefore, confirms the given dictatorial power structures of the National Socialists. In an attempt to justify the use of violence and force, Kolmar immerses her protagonist in the messianic-idea. In her play, she adheres to her model of Robespierre as a messianic figure. But in the light of the altruistic attributes and the fate of the young Cecile Renault, whom Robespierre sacrifices, he appears questioned in his role as the only possible redeemer figure. Therefore, this last Robespierre-text reveals an expanded awareness and an altered attitude of the author towards her historical environment.

The intellectual and political roots of present-day China lie in the late imperial era and the transition to modern statehood. As the last chain of the thousands years of dynastic rule in China, the Qing Dynasty ended in 1911 with a revolution. Even though the Republican regime was immediately established after their revolution, it took three decades until thenew government (People&rsquo / s Republic of China) achieved full sovereignty on the territory. The thesis argues that the 1911 Revolution is a major turning point in Chinese transformation not only because of the regime change but also the ideological shift towards modern statehood. In this study, first, the social forces and actors on the eve of the Revolution are analyzed. The gentry-domination of society and the power relations within the forces involved in the Revolution - especially the intellectuals and the military - appear to be the two major reasons why the transition was not completed with the Revolution. The second focus of the study: the process of breaking with the past. In other words, how was the shift in people&rsquo / s mind achieved? In China, this turning point did not coincide with the 1911 Revolution and/or regime change. It came later in 1910s, reaching its peak in 1919, with the New Culture Movement of the May Fourth intellectuals. There had been some influential intellectuals building a nationalist discourse even before the May Fourth Movement (e.g. Liang Qichao, reformist and ideologue in late Qing dynasty) but the radical and outspoken tone of the New Culture Movement achieved the grounds for a shift in minds. I will briefly analyze the intellectual work of the period and its politicization. A special emphasis is given on Sun Yat-sen&rsquo / s political and intellectual contribution to the transition since he was not only a major political activist but also a theoretician whose works (Three Principles of People) have been influential on China&rsquo / s nation-building process.

Throughout the history of western academia, there have been scholars who have interpreted and examined various aspects of human history. Within their “objectivity,” European historians and other Eurocentric scholars make it a point to universalize their own interpretations of different people’s histories and cultures. This type of scholarship tends to ignore or omit the contributions and historical realities of Afrikan people. This case is especially true of the scholars who have interpreted the historiography around the Afrikan revolution in Ayiti (Haiti/Hayti). The purpose of this study is to provide an Afrocentric re-examination and interpretation around the historiography of the Afrikan Revolution in Ayiti. As a result, this study seeks to highlight several essential Afrikan aspects and their overall impact on the Afrikan revolutionary war's totality in Ayiti. How can Ayisyen Vodou/Vodun and the more extensive system of Afrikan spirituality help better shape the interpretation and the historiography around the Afrikan revolution in Ayiti? Secondly, how have Eurocentric historiographies about different Afrikan histories been used to minimize Afrikan agency? Specifically, how did Afrikan people's dislocation caused by the European plantation play into the minimization of Afrikan agency in Ayiti during and after the revolution? Other relevant questions posed include: what is the relevance of utilizing Afrocentric historiography to teach young black children the stories and victories of Afrikan people in Ayiti? Furthermore, how can Afrocentric historiography be used as an analytical tool to discuss the theoretical issue of agency reduction formation and cognitive hiatus in Ayiti? These are the major research questions this study will attempt to answer, with the hope that this work may potentially raise the consciousness of young Afrikan people in Ayiti and abroad. / African American Studies

Aus der Einleitung: "Die Zweite Digitale oder auch Vierte Industrielle Revolution, Digitale Gesellschaft und Informationsgesellschaft sind Begriffe für den selben Vorgang, nämlich die Verlagerung von höheren Hirnfunktionen auf eine externe künstliche Intelligenz. Im Unterschied zur ersten Digitalen Revolution, die von der Erfindung des Mikroprozessors und dessen Programmierung geprägt war, führen aktuelle rechnergesteuerte Maschinen nicht nur vorgegebene Routinen aus und reagieren auf Signale externer Sensoren, sondern entscheiden autonom auf der Basis eines multisensorischen Inputs. Sie werden damit als sprachgesteuertes Smart Phones oder als kollaborative Roboter (Elkmann 2016) in einer Fertigung zum Partner des Menschen, dem sie sich anpassen. Smart Phone und Roboter erweitern qualitativ und quantitativ die Möglichkeiten eines Menschen und wirken auf den Menschen zurück. ..."

In analyzing the 1989 bicentennial in Paris, my point of departure has been that the French government, faced with the cool reception to the memory of the Revolution of 1789, was trying to make revolutionary heritage relevant to contemporary concerns, by using allegorical techniques of spatializing and visualizing history while consequently (yet paradoxically, since it ran against their intentions) effecting a smooth passage for this heritage into the world of commodity and spectacle. To analyze this dilemma, I investigated the mechanisms of representation and the tension between spectacle and politically engaged imagery. Drawing from the work of Water Benjamin, the thesis proposed to use allegory as a mode of political criticism and redemptive interpretation. The analysis of the programming of events, for example, revealed that it contained a moral tale of sacrifice, and praised the power of the memory of the Revolution to form a community, not based on ethnicity or shared history but on shared ideals. The analysis of the use of collage in the Bastille Day Parade revealed that it reworked Republican notions of ‘fraternity in a post-colonial era to reflect contemporary discussions of métissage and take a position on its relationship to democracy. By looking at this commemoration allegorically, the double meanings inscribed in the bicentennial program, exhibits, monuments and parade can be unpacked. But the allegorical critique is violent, it does not carefully excavate layers of meaning through a gentle and constructive hermeneutic circle, it requires that the objects that are being contemplated be in fragments. As the allegorist reassembles the fragments into new meaningful constellations, the constructions remain open, driven by the impossibility of recovering what has been lost, always pointing to the instability of meaning. The analysis of the commemoration recognized that commodification and spectacularisation happen, but through reversal it also showed that the 1989 bicentennial draws from a constantly evolving relationship to memory which allows for investment on the part of the public. Because the commemoration is a powerful form of visualizing and spatializing history that occurs in public spaces, many provocative images were taken up by the press and written about, which ultimately reconfigured present-day discussions about democracy and citizenship. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

It has been the purpose of this study to look closely at the history of Cherokee relations with the European powers and ascertain the reasons for the Indians' rarely severed loyalty to the British crown. The writer has attempted to determine the causes for ineffective Cherokee resistance to the westward movement of American settlers and absence of offensive action during the Revolution.