The goal of my dissertation is to describe the history of the South Korean1 space program and to use it to offer some insights on reframing space history from a global point of view. South Korea is a new player among the space faring nations. While some of the necessary infrastructure was put in place in the 30 years after the launch of Sputnik, the country only really made a commitment space in the 1990s, developing rapidly to become a significant presence today. The launch of KITsat-1 (Uribyul-1, the first Korean satellite) in 1992 marks its first major achievement, after which it built up its technological capabilities in the space sector in a relatively short period. South Korea now has twelve satellites and operates several space projects, and successfully developed its first space launch vehicle, KSLV-1, also known as Naro, in 2013. Although KSLV-1 is derived from the first stage of the Russian Angara rocket, combined with a solid-fueled second stage built by South Korea, its successful launch was the crucial step for the development of the country’s civilian space program. South Korea aims to develop the first wholly Korean-made launch rocket, KSLV-2 by 2020, which will additionally be used to launch a moon orbiter later that year. Korea’s recent aspiration to space exploration can be seen as part of global narrative in which the conquest of space is not dominated by a few superpowers. Our understanding of the past half-century of space development is, however, still firmly rooted in the framework of the old Cold-War-centered approach to space history. Until recently, only large and powerful nations have been able to mobilize the resources necessary for access to space, so the early years of space exploration produced a simple narrative: a fierce space competition between the Soviet Union and the U. S., with a few countries following behind in a struggle to increase their presence in space. Yet emerging powers’ stories of space development were barely noticed in comparison with the abundant literature on the space history of the super-powers and the increasing literature on middle-range space powers. In order to situate the South Korean space program in this evolving global context, this dissertation attempts to answer the following critical questions: What is the origin of Korean space development? Why is South Korea a late-comer in space, and why is it becoming more active today? How have its motivations and rationales evolved in defining relationships with other countries including the U.S., Russia, France, China, Japan, and even North Korea? Why does it continue to emphasize the need for “Korean” technology in space? In essence, what is Korean about the Korean space program? I seek answers to these questions by examining the relationship between a “space program” and “the construction of national identity” in a political, social, and transnational context. Through historical analysis, I will show that South Korea’s space program has been primarily driven by nationalistic rationales implicit in the argument that space development served “modernization,” “self-defense,”, “economic security”, and “national prestige.” By tracing the multiple links between technological prowess and national imagination, I connect these four rationales using to periodization; 1950s~1960s, 1970~1984, 1985~1997, and 1998~2013. A close examination of the history of the development of space exploration in South Korea offers a fertile ground for exploring the question how the rationales of space development have evolved as the Korean state worked on nation-building in a global context.

The thesis investigates the impact of western art music ('classical') upon the construction of Greek-European identity in the 19th century. Through the examination of institutions such as the Theatre of Athens that hosted the Italian opera for the better part of the 19th century, the Conservatory of Athens (1873), the Conservatory of Thessaloniki (1914), various 19th century literary societies, press content, scores, publications on music, and state regulations on education, the thesis utilizes both musical, as well as extra-musical material to construct a cultural and social history of Greece's understanding of the 'European' in relation to local Greek society through music between 1840 and 1914. At the same time, it highlights the importance of transnational institutional and interpersonal musical networks between Greece and Europe (mainly England, France, and Germany), to demonstrate how political and aesthetic preferences influenced long-term policy, cultural practice, and musical tradition. While examining the 19th century diplomatic, political, and cultural practices of the expanding 19th century Greek Kingdom, the thesis traces the development of western musical taste and practice in Balkan Greece in relation to the local modernizing society. It highlights the importance of local and European artistic agents and networks, identifies the tension between the projection of European identity and raw acoustic divergence, argues for about the contribution of music to the construction of Greek-European identity, and examines the cultural and political negotiations about the conflicting relationship between Byzantine-Hellenic-European-Modern Greek, as expressed through music and debates on music. The last part of the thesis assembles the 19th century material to explain the relationship between nationalism and musical practice at the turn of the 20th century, and as such the long-term influence of western art music upon the construction of Greek-European national identity.

This thesis is written in the format of a three act play. The author has elected this structure to frame the ethnographic data and analysis because it seemed befitting for telling my own life story alongside the memories of three generations of my matrilateral and patrilateral Tongan family residing in Auckland New Zealand. Thus, actors and scenes play out the thesis storyline in three parts where each act is titled Prologue, Dialogue and Epilogue. The Prologue, part one of this three act play, is three chapters which sets in motion the main actors - the research participants, and the scenes - the ethnographic context in which data was collected. It represents an ethnographic mosaic of memory and meaning as co-constructed by actors in recounting how they make sense of their place, their time, in a transnational history, that is, a family of stories among three Tongan generations residing largely in Auckland New Zealand. The Dialogue, part two of this three act play, is four chapters which maps out the theoretical and ethnographic territory that actors and scenes border-cross to visit. By this, I mean that research participants are political actors subject to social factors which shape how their memories and ensuing meanings are selectively reproduced in certain contexts of retelling the past and its relevance to understanding the present. The Epilogue, part three of this three act play, is the curtain call for the closing chapter. It presents an ending in which a new 'identity' entry made by the youngest Tongan generation creates possibilities for social change not yet experienced by prior generations residing in Auckland New Zealand. This thesis is woven into an overarching argument. Here, three generations of my matrilateral and patrilateral Tongan family residing in Auckland New Zealand intersect through two modes of memory and meaning. First, family reconstruct collective memories of 'identity' and 'culture' to make sense of how their ancestral origin, their historical past, is meaningful in their transnational lives and lifestyles. Second, inter-generational change among Tongan family residing in Auckland New Zealand is a social-political product of the transnational condition experienced by ethnic-cultural groups categorised as 'minorities' in the developed world.

This dissertation offers a revised historical account of how scientific experts associated with the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in the post-WWII era sought to overcome the legacy of scientific racism. Situating UNESCO’s anti-racism initiatives within the geographic context of the South and North Atlantic and the intellectual context of Latin American, Francophone, and Anglo-American social science this study shows that mid-century discussions of ‘race’ were intertwined with the multiple narratives of modernization and societal change that emerged in tandem with decolonization and the Cold War. Thus, one of this dissertation’s key arguments is that anti-racist projects in the post-war era were often cast as projects of redemption that involved coming to terms with the painful and destructive legacy of scientific racism and the anticipation of an improved and harmonious future where ‘race’ did not figure as a source of conflict and tension. However, because mid-century anti-racist scientists hailed from a variety of cultural, linguistic, and racial backgrounds the question of redemption took on different meanings and involved different stakes. This study examines social science experts’ anti-racist narratives of redemption in the context of four different UNESCO initiatives from the 1950s: 1) in projects of ‘cultural change’ (which were predicated on the anti-racist notion of the inherent educability of all peoples) 2) in UNESCO’s study of race relations in various locations in Brazil 3) in the elaboration of anti-racist approaches to ethnographic observation, and 4) in UNESCO attempts to produce anti-racist handbooks for teachers. These projects reveal how anti-racist experts from the 1950s were very much haunted by ‘race’ and concerned with neutralizing and dampening the affective and political impact of racial conceptions in the geopolitics of post-war era. Thus, this dissertation argues that rather than indicating a definitive retreat from ‘race’ UNESCO’s anti-racism initiatives in the 1950s speak to the persistence and plasticity of ‘race’ and of the fraught attempts to escape its legacy.

This dissertation utilizes archival research and digital methodologies to examine the birth and development of pentecostal mission in Hong Kong between the years 1907 and 1942. Current attention to Hong Kong has tended to focus on the first few years of pentecostal activity in the colony, the growth of early Chinese leadership, and the ways in which pentecostals were different from their evangelical peers. This study takes a longitudinal approach to the pentecostal movement in the colony by viewing it as a form of transnational discourse uniquely related to the local and regional contexts of Hong Kong and southern China. As such, this study is not interested in simply recovering the story of who went where. Instead, it is focused on tracing the changes of pentecostal mission in Hong Kong and understanding how those changes were entangled with the development of global pentecostal self-perception. The dissertation relies upon a broad survey of over six thousand pentecostal periodicals and the creation of a database that enables a meta-level analysis of trends in pentecostal mission. Particular attention is given to five themes: the spatial relationship between pentecostals and the colony, the structural dimensions of the pentecostal movement, common missionary practices, pentecostal spirituality, and pentecostal approaches to gender. By tracing these five themes, the dissertation shows that pentecostal missionary discourse changed dramatically during the first thirty-five-year period in the colony and that changes in missionary ideas, perception, and practices grew from pentecostals’ dialogue with their local environment, global context, and evangelical heritage. This study of pentecostal mission in Hong Kong is divided into three main time periods. From 1907 to 1913, pentecostal missionaries fit the mold of faith missionaries, arriving in China with no formal system of financial support. These missionaries embraced a Sino-Western leadership model and transformed Hong Kong into a transurban center of global missionary outreach. From 1914 to 1928, however, the unified model broke apart, and pentecostal mission, like the broader pentecostal movement, became denominational. As denominational frameworks took hold, missionaries began emulating larger evangelical missionary organizations as they sought to expand their influence into the “interior” of China. From 1929 to 1942, however, the political unrest on the mainland forced pentecostals back to Hong Kong, where they discovered a bevy of new opportunities for mission. Throughout these organizational and spatial changes, pentecostals in Hong Kong were also adapting to the religious marketplace of Hong Kong, negotiating evangelical conceptions of gender and mission and reformulating their place in the global pentecostal movement.

The presence of German immigrants - especially the German orphans of 1948, was a known phenomenon to the South African community during the 20th century. After the Second World War, South Africa’s economy developed rapidly and the skills shortage drew immigrants from all over the world. For Germans, South Africa became a prime destination. They were mostly welcomed with open arms. Many of them also played an important role in South African society. Knowledge regarding these Germans, especially those who immigrated between 1945 and 1980, is fading in the 21st century, a century of dramatic changes and challenges. It appears that very little is known with regard to the contribution these German immigrants made towards the development of South Africa and how they integrated into the South African community. Each immigrant brings his own identity, worldview and concepts of how institutions should function. They bridge national borders and entered a new society with its own identity, or in the case of South Africa, multi ethnic identities. The immigrants have to integrate and adapt to the new culture and ways, while they still retain their old cultures. In the process, they develop a new identity, a trans nationality. They influence their environment and the people they came into contact with. In the 1970‟s, it was especially the German historians who developed a new historiography, known as transnational history writing. After the Second World War, the relationships of the Germans and the French became intertwined in Europe. This necessitated a new approach to the communal coexistence of communities in a fast - changing Europe. Previously history was largely written within the context of the national state and within geographic borders. Now history was developing over national borders and people of different nations were starting to live shared lives. By making comparisons and emphasizing differences, a new theory and principles of transnationalism and trans nationality surfaced. This study approaches transnationalism from the context of a family history, with a biographical case study of a single citizen who emigrated from Germany to South Africa. The focus is on how Wolfgang Wehrmeyer was transplanted to a new country and how he developed a transnational identity. This biographical case study is incorporated into a prosopography with the personal experiences of fellow German immigrants in order to gain a comprehensive insight on trans nationality. The findings are analysed and synthesised to come to a comprehensive conclusion as to how German immigrants experienced transnationalism. The purpose of the study is to make a contribution to our knowledge of transnational historiography in South Africa, as well as to our knowledge about the German immigrants and their experiences.

The presence of German immigrants - especially the German orphans of 1948, was a known phenomenon to the South African community during the 20th century. After the Second World War, South Africa’s economy developed rapidly and the skills shortage drew immigrants from all over the world. For Germans, South Africa became a prime destination. They were mostly welcomed with open arms. Many of them also played an important role in South African society. Knowledge regarding these Germans, especially those who immigrated between 1945 and 1980, is fading in the 21st century, a century of dramatic changes and challenges. It appears that very little is known with regard to the contribution these German immigrants made towards the development of South Africa and how they integrated into the South African community. Each immigrant brings his own identity, worldview and concepts of how institutions should function. They bridge national borders and entered a new society with its own identity, or in the case of South Africa, multi ethnic identities. The immigrants have to integrate and adapt to the new culture and ways, while they still retain their old cultures. In the process, they develop a new identity, a trans nationality. They influence their environment and the people they came into contact with. In the 1970‟s, it was especially the German historians who developed a new historiography, known as transnational history writing. After the Second World War, the relationships of the Germans and the French became intertwined in Europe. This necessitated a new approach to the communal coexistence of communities in a fast - changing Europe. Previously history was largely written within the context of the national state and within geographic borders. Now history was developing over national borders and people of different nations were starting to live shared lives. By making comparisons and emphasizing differences, a new theory and principles of transnationalism and trans nationality surfaced. This study approaches transnationalism from the context of a family history, with a biographical case study of a single citizen who emigrated from Germany to South Africa. The focus is on how Wolfgang Wehrmeyer was transplanted to a new country and how he developed a transnational identity. This biographical case study is incorporated into a prosopography with the personal experiences of fellow German immigrants in order to gain a comprehensive insight on trans nationality. The findings are analysed and synthesised to come to a comprehensive conclusion as to how German immigrants experienced transnationalism. The purpose of the study is to make a contribution to our knowledge of transnational historiography in South Africa, as well as to our knowledge about the German immigrants and their experiences.

This dissertation studies the transnational interactions of Deaf Americans in a transnational Deaf public sphere from 1870-1924. Deaf Americans advanced a discourse of co-equality in which they asserted their ability to participate in society as Deaf-- and as deaf-- people.

The Republican period in Chinese history (1911-1949) is generally seen as a series of anti-imperialist and anti-foreign movements that coincide with the development of Chinese nationalism. The continual ties between Chinese nationalists and Japanese intellectuals are often overlooked. In the midst of the Sino-Japanese war, Uchiyama Kanzō, a Christian pacifist who was the owner of the bookstore, acted as a cultural liaison between May Fourth Chinese revolutionaries who were returned students from Japan, and Japanese left-wing activists working for the Communist cause, or visiting Japanese writers eager to meet their Chinese counterparts. I explore the relationship between Japanese and Chinese cultural literati in Shanghai, using Uchiyama Bookstore as the focal point. The ongoing Sino-Japanese tensions surrounding the "history problem" overemphasize the views of the right-wing nationalists and the Japanese state, dismissing the crucial role of left-wing groups. Uchiyama is a key link to understanding the ideological connection between Pan Asian anti-war activists in the pre-war period with peace activists in post-war Japan who were often accused of being "China's hand." Uchiyama, valued for his prewar connections with prominent Chinese intellectuals, becomes one of the founding members of Sino-Japan organizations upon his return to Japan after the war. I situate non-governmental Sino-Japanese organizations within the larger peace movement in Japan, which are transnational, in contrast with intergovernmental organizations that operate on the basis of nation-states. This work will contribute towards a growing recognition of histories that transcend nations, by focusing on both Chinese and Japanese cosmopolitan individuals who continued to form ties with each other, even as their respective nation-states were either at war, or did not have normalized diplomatic relations. I hope to also shed new light on histories of Republican China and post-war Japan, as well as explore issues related to empire and globalization in East Asia. / text

This historical dissertation investigates the international proliferation of Fordism in politically illiberal settings during the 1920s and 1930s. Based on American, German, and Soviet primary sources, it is the first archive-based study of this process. The dissertation's main finding is that the implementation of Ford's ideas and practices was a key component of illiberal modernization drives - that is, projects of state-led economic growth which explicitly fashioned themselves as alternatives to Western liberal capitalism. This point of view is a departure from previous accounts of the global success of Fordism, which subsume the story under the spread of American market capitalism or portray it as a process of quasi-self-explanatory technology transfer. It is also distinct from the well-known approach in history and the social sciences that describes Fordism as a specifically capitalist production regime (in distinction to a later post-Fordism). The argument pursued here requires a re-interpretation of Ford Motor Company's position within the American corporate arena of the 1920s and 1930s. Undertaken in the opening chapter, this re-examination characterizes the production practice of Ford Motor Company as an illiberal strategic alternative to the American business mainstream. Subsequent chapters trace the reception of Ford's political and business writings abroad, reconstruct the Nazi and Soviet motorization effort in the wake of Ford's model, and examine the transfer of Ford's mass production techniques to Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. The empirical results show that motorization and productive efficiency, both associated with Ford's innovations, became hallmarks of illiberal modernization efforts in these countries. The dissertation highlights the importance of non-market motivations for economic actors and policy-makers. It introduces the term illiberal modernism to describe the motivating power of ideology on economic practice during the interwar years. / History