Date Awarded

2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Department

History

Advisor

Kathrin Levitan

Committee Member

Andrew Fisher

Committee Member

Fabricio Prado

Abstract

Blood, Soil, and Iron: The German Ideological Origins of Zionism and Lebensraum This research paper explores the intellectual atmosphere of fin-de-siècle Germany (and to a certain extent, central Europe), that gave rise to the political ideologies of Zionism and Lebensraum. There are many grounds that render Lebensraum and Zionism ripe for ideological comparison, one of them being that they are both Settler Colonial ideologies, according to the definition set out by Patrick Wolfe. Firstly, both ideologies are examined within the framework of Settler Colonial theory, followed by an analysis of the events that led up to German unification in 1871; this would lay the political groundwork from which Zionism and Lebensraum would spring forth. Finally, a more holistic view of nineteenth century European politics is taken into account, stressing the importance of Social Darwinism and German kultur in Vienna in the context of the genesis of both Zionism and Lebensraum. Garden of Earthly Delights: Women, Sexuality, and Sensibility in Vauxhall, 1688-1815 This paper explores, in a general sense, the effects of the Enlightenment in Britain during the Long Eighteenth Century. More specifically, however, it explores the effects that the Enlightenment had on women in Britain, and how and why the late eighteenth century can be viewed as a ‘golden age’ for British women; Vauxhall pleasure gardens is used as a case study in which these developments can be seen firsthand. Firstly, a theoretical exploration of the Enlightenment is undertaken, in which a paper-specific definition of the Enlightenment is established within the context of leading scholars in the field. Another area of theory is then explored, this time in the realm of Habermas and the public sphere, which also serves to contextualize the rest of the paper. The rise of commercial capitalism in Britain is then analyzed, as it was fundamental in forming the culture of leisure which allowed women greater public visibility. The rest of the paper explores individual conditions and/or paradigms that existed in Vauxhall that exemplified the effects of the Enlightenment in Britain and how they in turn affected women, such as the masquerade, sensibility, celebrity culture, and the printing press.

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.21220/s2-h8st-k317

Rights

© The Author

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