This thesis explores the notion of "black modernity" in the context of the Liberia at the turn of the twentieth century. Despite Liberia's recognition by the international community as a sovereign nation, Liberia fell subject to the imperial ploys of the European powers in the Scramble for Africa. Americo-Liberians, the governing elite of Liberia, toiled to preserve Liberia's status as an autonomous nation and the only self-governed black republic in Africa. This thesis examines the complexities of Liberia's sovereignty crisis, highlighting the ways in which Americo-Liberians used methods of "modernity" for their own purposes. Using Liberia as a case study, this thesis argues that the concept of "black modernity" hinges on contextual factors such as the plight of the people, pending circumstances, power structures, and understanding of self in relation to these variables. Americo-Liberians, unlike most black people at this time, were protected from race-based oppression by the state. Thus, when Liberia's sovereignty was in jeopardy, Americo-Liberians diligently fought to ensure that the Republic of Liberia maintained its sovereignty by using methods of colonialism and diplomacy. While these methods mirrored those of the European imperialists, Americo-Liberians employed these methods to preserve Liberia and, accordingly, challenge the prevailing notions of black inferiority. / Master of Arts

From the campaign waged by Revolutionaries like Barère and the Abbé Grégoire against those regional languages they referred to pejoratively as 'patois', to the educational policies of Jules Ferry a century later, successive governments of France engaged in a broadly successful struggle to force the French to speak French. Inverting the logic of cultural nationalists like Herder, who claimed a shared language as the legitimate basis of national polities, French legislators sought to impose French as a common language on a linguistically diverse population that had already been constituted as a state. Recent historical work has shown the particular significance of such projects during the Napoleonic period. Historians have begun considering how far the Napoleonic regime was characterized by cultural imperialism. While the ideological nature of such projects- the 'view from the centre', so to speak- is now well understood by historians, this thesis is concerned with the practice of Napoleonic imperialism in one sphere of action: language. By focusing on the practice of linguistic imperialism under Napoleon this thesis makes an important contribution to understandings of the cultural politics of the period as well as Napoleonic state-building policies more generally.

Três eixos de discussão são propostos neste trabalho. O primeiro é o de que, especialmente a partir dos anos 1970-1980, dado o ganho de hegemonia da estratégia neoliberal de desenvolvimento, o capitalismo teria ingressado numa nova fase. Entre todas as teorias desenvolvidas a fim de defender esta proposta, destacam-se aquelas que dão especial atenção ao aspecto financeiro das transformações recentes na dinâmica capitalista, enfatizando a importância histórica assumida pela valorização fictícia do capital neste período. Daí emerge o segundo eixo, com a compreensão de que tal desenvolvimento do sistema capitalista - no sentido de processualidade e não de avanço - leva a uma redefinição/ampliação daqueles que seriam os traços essenciais do imperialismo contemporâneo, constituindo-se, por isso, uma nova fase do imperialismo. Neste sentido, estaríamos ainda sob as bases de um imperialismo capitalista, embora o \"imperialismo contemporâneo\" deva ser entendido como uma complexificação do \"imperialismo clássico\". Dito isto, insurge o terceiro eixo de discussão: entendendo a teoria da dependência como um complemento necessário às teses do imperialismo, se temos uma nova fase do capitalismo e uma nova fase do imperialismo, temos também, necessariamente, uma nova fase da dependência. A presente proposta de pesquisa tem como objeto, portanto, uma tentativa de perceber como a dependência, assumida na perspectiva da teoria marxista da dependência, se estabelece nos marcos dessa nova fase ou no interior da lógica de valorização capitalista atual. / Three axes of discussion are proposed in this paper. The first is that, especially from the years 1970-1980, considering the gain of hegemony of the neoliberal strategy of development, capitalism is undergoing substantial changes in its form of organization and operation and, therefore, would have entered in a new phase. Among all the theories developed in order to defend this proposal, we highlight those that give special attention to the financial aspect of the recent transformations in capitalist dynamics, emphasizing the historical importance assumed by fictitious valuation of capital in this period. Thus emerges the second axis, with the understanding that such development of the capitalist system - in the sense of process, not improvement - leads to a redefinition/expansion of those that would be the essential features of contemporary imperialism, constituting therefore a new phase of imperialism. In this sense, we are still under the foundations of a capitalist imperialism, even though the \"contemporary imperialism\" should be understood as a complexification of \"classical imperialism\". That said it arises the third point: understanding the Dependency Theory as a necessary complement to the theories of imperialism, if we have a new phase of capitalism and a new phase of imperialism, it seems fair to say that we have also, necessarily, a new phase of dependence. The proposed research aims, therefore, an attempt to understand how the dependence, assumed by the standpoint of Marxist Dependence Theory, is established within the framework of this new phase or within the current capitalist logic of valorization.

<p>The purpose of this thesis is to investigate if there exists a superiority between developed and developing countries, which then in turn effects the negative consequences, for the local inhabitants of Thailand, that follow from mass tourism.</p><p>To be able to answer the questions that we have selected for this thesis, we chose to perform open interviews with six respondents which were all involved in the tourism industry in Thailand. Four of the interviews were carried out on location in Thailand. In order to deepen our understanding of the selected questions even further literary studies have been made as well. The theories we have chosen concern the topics of imperialism and figurations.</p><p>Our empirical material gave significant results. It showed that there is indeed an imbalance of power between the western world and Thailand. The relationship between the two exists due to an uneven distribution of economic resources, the majority of which can be found in the western world today. This means that tourists who possess these resources have the opportunity to travel to Thailand on their own terms, they get to dictate the journey to suit themselves. The desire to earn money is so great for the Thai people that there is hardly any concern for what consequences the tourism might cause. The relationship of power that exists between Thailand and the western world today is constantly reproduced. This leads to devastating consequences for Thailand and its inhabitants. Mass tourism generates consequences such as pollution of the environment, revenue leakage and prostitution.</p> / <p>Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka om det existerar en överordning mellan utvecklade och utvecklingsländer vilken i så fall påverkar de negativa konsekvenser som uppstår, för lokalbefolkningen, till följd av massturismen i Thailand.</p><p>För att finna svar på våra frågeställningar har vi valt att utföra öppna intervjuer med sex stycken respondenter som alla är verksamma inom turistindustrin i Thailand. Fyra av intervjuerna genomfördes på plats i Thailand. För att ytterligare fördjupa förståelsen för våra valda problemställningar har litteraturstudier genomförts. De teorier vi har valt att utgå från behandlar ämnena imperialism och figurationer.</p><p>Det insamlade materialet var mycket talande och visade att det råder ett maktförhållande mellan västvärlden och Thailand. Maktförhållandet existerar på grund av den ojämna fördelningen av ekonomiska tillgångar som råder i världen, tillgångar som idag till stor del återfinns i västvärlden. Detta innebär att turister som innehar dessa resurser har möjlighet att resa till Thailand och diktera villkoren för hur de önskar att resan bör se ut. Önskan om att tjäna pengar är, för thailändarna, så pass stor att det knappt förekommer någon reflektion över vilka konsekvenser turismen för med sig. Maktförhållandet som idag råder mellan Thailand och västvärlden reproduceras ständigt. Detta leder till förödande konsekvenser för Thailand och dess befolkning. Massturismen ger konsekvenser såsom miljöförstöring, inkomstläckage och prostitution.</p>

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate if there exists a superiority between developed and developing countries, which then in turn effects the negative consequences, for the local inhabitants of Thailand, that follow from mass tourism. To be able to answer the questions that we have selected for this thesis, we chose to perform open interviews with six respondents which were all involved in the tourism industry in Thailand. Four of the interviews were carried out on location in Thailand. In order to deepen our understanding of the selected questions even further literary studies have been made as well. The theories we have chosen concern the topics of imperialism and figurations. Our empirical material gave significant results. It showed that there is indeed an imbalance of power between the western world and Thailand. The relationship between the two exists due to an uneven distribution of economic resources, the majority of which can be found in the western world today. This means that tourists who possess these resources have the opportunity to travel to Thailand on their own terms, they get to dictate the journey to suit themselves. The desire to earn money is so great for the Thai people that there is hardly any concern for what consequences the tourism might cause. The relationship of power that exists between Thailand and the western world today is constantly reproduced. This leads to devastating consequences for Thailand and its inhabitants. Mass tourism generates consequences such as pollution of the environment, revenue leakage and prostitution. / Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka om det existerar en överordning mellan utvecklade och utvecklingsländer vilken i så fall påverkar de negativa konsekvenser som uppstår, för lokalbefolkningen, till följd av massturismen i Thailand. För att finna svar på våra frågeställningar har vi valt att utföra öppna intervjuer med sex stycken respondenter som alla är verksamma inom turistindustrin i Thailand. Fyra av intervjuerna genomfördes på plats i Thailand. För att ytterligare fördjupa förståelsen för våra valda problemställningar har litteraturstudier genomförts. De teorier vi har valt att utgå från behandlar ämnena imperialism och figurationer. Det insamlade materialet var mycket talande och visade att det råder ett maktförhållande mellan västvärlden och Thailand. Maktförhållandet existerar på grund av den ojämna fördelningen av ekonomiska tillgångar som råder i världen, tillgångar som idag till stor del återfinns i västvärlden. Detta innebär att turister som innehar dessa resurser har möjlighet att resa till Thailand och diktera villkoren för hur de önskar att resan bör se ut. Önskan om att tjäna pengar är, för thailändarna, så pass stor att det knappt förekommer någon reflektion över vilka konsekvenser turismen för med sig. Maktförhållandet som idag råder mellan Thailand och västvärlden reproduceras ständigt. Detta leder till förödande konsekvenser för Thailand och dess befolkning. Massturismen ger konsekvenser såsom miljöförstöring, inkomstläckage och prostitution.

This thesis will illustrate how the issues of race and social class in Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights are main focuses for how Heathcliff is perceived and how they influence his actions. The importance lies in how both issues are main reasons for how Heathcliff is treated. He is not treated primarily because of his social class nor his race, but a mixture of both. The analysis will be done by analysing the text with a postcolonial theorization of imperialism. It will also include the study by Terry Eagleton Myths of Power: A Marxist study on Wuthering Heights and Maja-Lisa von Sneidern’s article “Wuthering Heights and the Liverpool Slave Trade”. Eagleton states that because of Heathcliff’s unknown origin he has no natural social or biological standing and it is these factors that lead to the conflicts in the novel. Eagleton bases his study on a Marxist and capitalistic perspective. He does not consider the racial aspect of Heathcliff’s situation as a main factor. By contrast, von Sneidern’s study focuses on Heathcliff’s undisputed racial otherness and states that the relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff is a mistress-bondsman one. In her analysis, Von Sneidern treats Heathcliff like a slave and only mentions the racial aspects of every situation and conflict in the novel. She does not consider social class as a main factor for the situations and conflicts. This thesis will show how and why both social class and race are important to consider when analysing this novel, with Eagleton’s and von Sneidern’s studies representing some of the studies that have been made on these issues.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed June 11, 2007). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 185-196).

This thesis offers a three-pronged perspective on the historical interconnections between Lowland Scots language(s) and British imperialism. Through analyses of the manifestation of Scots linguistic varieties outwith Scotland during the nineteenth century, alongside Scottish concerns for maintaining the socio-linguistic “propriety” and literary “standards” of “English,” this discussion argues that certain elements within Lowland language were employed in projecting a sentimental-yet celebratory conception of Scottish imperial prestige. Part I directly engages with nineteenth-century “diasporic” articulations of Lowland Scots forms, focusing on a triumphal, ceremonial vocalisation of Scottish shibboleths, termed “verbal tartanry.” Much like physical emblems of nineteenth-century Scottish iconography, it is suggested that a verbal tartanry served to accentuate Scots distinction within a broader British framework, tied to a wider imperial superiorism. Parts II and III look to the origins of this verbal tartanry. Part II turns back to mid eighteenth-century Scottish linguistic concerns, suggesting the emergence of a proto-typical verbal tartanry through earlier anxieties to ascertain “correct” English “standards,” and the parallel drive to perceive, prohibit, and prescribe Scottish linguistic usage. It is argued that later eighteenth-century Scottish philological priorities for the roots and “purity” of Lowland Scots forms – linked to “ancient” literature and “racially”-loaded origin myths – led to an encouraged “uncovering” of hallowed linguistic traits. This renegotiated reverence for certain Lowland forms was bolstered by contemporary “diasporic” imaginings – envisioning, indeed pre-empting the significance of Scots migrants in the sentimental preservation of a seemingly-threatened linguistic distinction. Part III looks beyond Scotland in the early decades of the nineteenth century. Through a consideration of the markedly different colonial and “post-colonial” contexts of British India and the early American Republic, attitudes towards certain, distinctive Lowland forms, together with Scots' assertions of English linguistic “standards,” demonstrate a Scottish socio-cultural alignment with British imperial prestige.

Historians have long been fascinated by the last decade of the nineteenth century. It was in these years that one of the great industrial reform movements arose, spearheaded in much of the West and South by the Populists. It was also a decade in which the nation fought its first foreign war in half a century and forcibly took possession of its first major overseas colonial possessions. Scholars have frequently attempted to discuss the two phenomena in conjunction, but their attempts thus far have been shallow and unsatisfactory. This study examines the Populists of the U.S. West in detail, with a special focus upon the years from 1898 to 1900. Within the first years of the decade, the Populists had developed a substantial following by demanding a reorganization of the national economy for the benefit of small-scale producers and laborers. By 1896, the party formed a vital component of the reform coalition that won most of the elected offices of the region. The Populists and their allies appeared poised to become a substantial force for change, but it was not to be. Wars---the first with Spain over Cuba, the second in the Philippines to quash an independence movement---shifted public attention to other matters. Western Populists and Democrats responded by extending their critique of concentrated wealth to foreign affairs, and they attributed the drive for empire to the demands of financiers and industrialists. Yet by attacking the American war efforts, they laid themselves open to charges of disloyalty. President McKinley and the western Republicans who followed him saw the opportunities provided by the conflicts. They declared that colonies would promote trade and promised that the wealth generated by this commerce would trickle down to all classes. To an even greater degree, they skillfully used the wars to rally support around the nation's soldiers and the "flag." And finally, western Republicans successfully labeled the Populists and Democrats who opposed the wars as traitors and "copperheads." In this way conservatives destroyed the most serious challenge to the American industrial order.

Três eixos de discussão são propostos neste trabalho. O primeiro é o de que, especialmente a partir dos anos 1970-1980, dado o ganho de hegemonia da estratégia neoliberal de desenvolvimento, o capitalismo teria ingressado numa nova fase. Entre todas as teorias desenvolvidas a fim de defender esta proposta, destacam-se aquelas que dão especial atenção ao aspecto financeiro das transformações recentes na dinâmica capitalista, enfatizando a importância histórica assumida pela valorização fictícia do capital neste período. Daí emerge o segundo eixo, com a compreensão de que tal desenvolvimento do sistema capitalista - no sentido de processualidade e não de avanço - leva a uma redefinição/ampliação daqueles que seriam os traços essenciais do imperialismo contemporâneo, constituindo-se, por isso, uma nova fase do imperialismo. Neste sentido, estaríamos ainda sob as bases de um imperialismo capitalista, embora o \"imperialismo contemporâneo\" deva ser entendido como uma complexificação do \"imperialismo clássico\". Dito isto, insurge o terceiro eixo de discussão: entendendo a teoria da dependência como um complemento necessário às teses do imperialismo, se temos uma nova fase do capitalismo e uma nova fase do imperialismo, temos também, necessariamente, uma nova fase da dependência. A presente proposta de pesquisa tem como objeto, portanto, uma tentativa de perceber como a dependência, assumida na perspectiva da teoria marxista da dependência, se estabelece nos marcos dessa nova fase ou no interior da lógica de valorização capitalista atual. / Three axes of discussion are proposed in this paper. The first is that, especially from the years 1970-1980, considering the gain of hegemony of the neoliberal strategy of development, capitalism is undergoing substantial changes in its form of organization and operation and, therefore, would have entered in a new phase. Among all the theories developed in order to defend this proposal, we highlight those that give special attention to the financial aspect of the recent transformations in capitalist dynamics, emphasizing the historical importance assumed by fictitious valuation of capital in this period. Thus emerges the second axis, with the understanding that such development of the capitalist system - in the sense of process, not improvement - leads to a redefinition/expansion of those that would be the essential features of contemporary imperialism, constituting therefore a new phase of imperialism. In this sense, we are still under the foundations of a capitalist imperialism, even though the \"contemporary imperialism\" should be understood as a complexification of \"classical imperialism\". That said it arises the third point: understanding the Dependency Theory as a necessary complement to the theories of imperialism, if we have a new phase of capitalism and a new phase of imperialism, it seems fair to say that we have also, necessarily, a new phase of dependence. The proposed research aims, therefore, an attempt to understand how the dependence, assumed by the standpoint of Marxist Dependence Theory, is established within the framework of this new phase or within the current capitalist logic of valorization.