History Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2778
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Item From Islamic Exceptionalism to Universal Religious Categories: Reconceptualizations of Dīn and Millet in the Seventeenth-Century Ottoman Empire(2024) Agalar, Saban; Karamustafa, Ahmet T.; Zilfi, Madeline C.; History; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation examines the transformation of the Islamic category of religion through a conceptual history of dīn (often translated as “religion”) and millet (often translated as “community”) during the Ottoman Empire from the late sixteenth to early eighteenth centuries. Arabic and Turkish world histories, which flourished during this period, exhibited a significant expansion in geographical and cultural scope compared to earlier examples and rarely focused on the House of Osman or Islamic history. I argue that these world historians similarly presented dīn as a universal analytical unit, challenging traditional Islamic scholarship that had reserved dīn for Islam or other monotheistic faiths. By presenting Islam as one dīn among many, these authors viewed dīn as a universal social phenomenon comparable to other domains of human life, although differing perspectives persisted among legal scholars, polemicists, and heresiographers. These world histories, along with a growing body of literature on non-Muslim faiths and scriptures, were also characterized by a more detached and analytical approach to their subjects. The dissertation links these conceptual and historiographical shifts to changes in Ottoman self-perception amid increasing awareness of cultural diversity and declining imperial power. This reconceptualization of dīn coincided with debates on the related term of millet, traditionally associated with monotheistic communities, as scholars explored its broader applicability to various religious groups. In addition to a close reading of historical and religious works, the dissertation employs computational tools to analyze substantial volumes of Ottoman texts, including court records and Evliyā Çelebi’s Seyāḥatnāme, to trace how millet was used in both official and literary contexts. For world historians, millet generally implies a shared confession, which is not always monotheistic. In the Seyāḥatnāme, millet typically refers to Christian communities within the empire while excluding Jews, whereas in court records, it primarily signifies the Muslim community, with occasional references to non-Muslim groups.While focusing on native concepts as understood by the Ottomans themselves, the dissertation also draws parallels with Protestant approaches to categorizing religion, noting similar efforts to develop comprehensive taxonomies in both contexts. At the same time, it underlines key differences: while the Protestant model prioritized creed as the central feature of “world religions,” Ottoman world historians embraced a broader understanding of dīn and millet, which included beliefs, acts of worship, belonging to a confessional community, and sometimes customs and morality. These Ottoman historians did not often exclude polytheistic communities as their Protestant counterparts did. Beyond offering an overlooked conceptual history expressed in an understudied historiographical genre in the Ottoman Empire, this dissertation’s potential contributions extend to the broader fields of Islam and the study of religion. By challenging narrowly defined and ahistorical Islamic conceptualizations of religion and non-Muslim faiths, it aims to expand the current understanding of Islam, moving beyond the traditional focus on the Quran and a few medieval classics. Additionally, the study engages with broader theoretical debates on the nature of religion, questioning the universality of post-Enlightenment European models by exploring non-Western religious categories in early modern history.Item Doctor's Domain: Innovation and Regulation in the U.S. Medical Device Industry, 1950-2000(2024) Bowrey, Brice; Sicilia, David; History; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation examines the role of physicians in shaping the development and regulation of medical technologies in the United States during the second half of the twentieth century. I argue that physicians became the dominant actors in the medical technology sector by using their preexisting professional prestige to assert the primacy of clinical knowledge and promote a culture of tinkering in private sector research and development. In contrast, the nascent profession of biomedical engineering could not effectively compete for status and influence. By analyzing the professional conflicts between physicians, biomedical engineers, and other stakeholders in the regulatory system for medical devices that emerged during and after Congress enacted the Medical Device Amendments of 1976, this dissertation explores the role of perceived expertise and scientific legitimacy in shaping regulatory policy, business organization, and other social structures that facilitate technological innovation.Item Consistent Sounds of War in Iraq: Iraqi Soundscapes 1979-2006(2024) Salive, Natalie; Wien, Peter; History; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This thesis explores the evolution of the Iraqi soundscape from the rise of Saddam Hussein in 1979 to the aftermath of the 2003 invasion, focusing on how sound has been employed as a tool of power, control, and resistance. Chapter One introduces the concept of sonic history, with a specific focus on Iraq's unique soundscapes during the Ba'athist regime. It examines the role of sound as an instrument of warfare and propaganda, delving into how Saddam's regime utilized sonic environments to cultivate a pervasive cult of personality and how changing technologies altered Iraq’s auditory experience. The second chapter provides a detailed analysis of the Ba'athi soundscapes, establishing the sonic contexts within which the regime operated. It discusses the sounds associated with sites of violence like Abu Ghraib, the regime's strategies of censorship, and the pervasive sounds of terror that became normalized during the Iran-Iraq War. The chapter also previews the sounds that foreshadowed the "Shock and Awe" campaign during the 1991 Gulf War. Chapter 3 continues the narrative into the 2003 invasion and its aftermath, examining how the invasion perpetuated and transformed the existing aural environments. The chapter highlights the sounds of military vehicles, weapons, and civilian life, contrasting the propagandistic "sounds of freedom" with the persistent terror experienced by the Iraqi populace. The chapter also revisits themes of censorship and the complex auditory experience of "freedom" in wartime. Finally, Chapter 4 concludes the study by reflecting on the continuity and change in Iraq’s soundscape across these pivotal historical moments, underscoring the role of sound in shaping Iraq’s modern history. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of how sound operates within contexts of violence and power, particularly within the framework of modern irregular warfare.Item "In This You Street Vicinity": Building a Cultural Center in Washington, D.C., 1903-1912(2024) Jamison, Bridget; Giovacchini, Saverio; History; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The decade of 1903-1912 was a period of great creation in the U Street neighborhood of Washington, D.C., the result of social conditions that had emerged through Reconstruction and beyond. The institutions that were built to house Black Washington’s cultural activities in this time were sites of conflict between contingents of Washingtonians, both Black and white, who held competing visions for the future of their city and communities. Although different principles and priorities determined the development and operation of different buildings, such as True Reformers’ Hall, the Twelfth Street Y.M.C.A., and the Howard Theatre, the concentration of cultural institutions in this one location produced a coherent idea of U Street that would carry into future decades. U Street at the beginning of the twentieth century was the local creation of people who were involved in national discussions on politics, religion, society, and economics and engaged with what was new and modern in arts and entertainment. Even before it became a famous theater district, U Street was an expression of Black business and Black artistry and the aspirations that the people there had for the future.Item "Pillaged and Robbed so Well": Captains in the Hundred Years War 1350-1380(2024) Ament, Nathaniel; Baron, Sabrina; History; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Captains were among the most influential military figures of the Hundred Years War. Despite this, there is scant scholarship on captaincy as a position within medieval society. This thesis seeks to rectify this gap in the scholarship by exploring the careers of influential captains serving England and France during the period from 1350-80. Drawing primarily from chronicle sources, this thesis examines the careers of this group of captains chronologically. It examines how their careers progressed and how they interacted with key cultural systems such as territorial lordship, chivalric culture, and the economic mechanisms of war. The overall findings of this paper reveal that these three systems mutually reinforced each other through captaincy by justifying chivalric violence.Item “Quite Young Limbs that Bled”: Accidents, Apathy, and the Failure of American Aviation During the First World War(2024) Getka, Dana; Giovacchini, Saverio; History; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The advent of the First World War saw America’s first concerted attempt at building a world-class air service. Desperate to join the ranks of Britain, Germany, and France, it pushed poorly-built planes out of factories and poorly-trained cadets out of flying schools at an alarming rate. In this thesis, I argue that in blind pursuit of its goals, the United States air service ultimately doomed those whose efforts would bring the organization its prestige: the pilots. Aviators, especially non-combatants in roles such as training, testing, and ferrying, faced unavoidable death or harm every time they stepped into a plane, be it physically, emotionally, or psychologically. Despite their role as non-combatants, these pilots well understood that destruction would characterize their world, provoking emotional responses expected of those engaged in fighting on active fronts. Indeed, flying was a world of combat unto itself, and by war’s end, the Army Air Service had earned the dubious distinction of being the only arm of the United States military in which more men were violently killed in non-combat than in combat roles.Item LOCAL RESISTANCE AND RECOVERY IN THE NEOLIBERAL ERA: A CASE STUDY OF THE 1993 NAVAL BASE CLOSURE IN CHARLESTON, SC(2024) Verkouw, Clay Stephen; Chung, Patrick; History; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission transformed military base communities throughout the United States from 1988-2005. This work offers an account of military base closure from the local level, tracing the origins, resistance, impacts, and recovery in Charleston, South Carolina. A neoliberal turn in domestic politics resulted in the closure of hundreds of military bases, like the Charleston Naval Shipyard. Despite significant local resistance, the BRAC Commission shuttered the shipyard, ending decades of military investment and thousands of stable government jobs in the Charleston region. Yet, Charleston leaders took important steps in the post-closure years to maintain the traditions of military Keynesianism in Charleston, leading to a very successful economic recovery from the naval base closure crisis. This case study seeks to complicate existing narratives of U.S. military industry resilience, post-Cold War base closure, and military privatization benefits through a local history of a transformative period in Charleston.Item CHAOS AND CONSPIRACY: THE HAGERSTOWN DRAFT RIOTS AND THE WHISKEY REBELLION(2024) Lowery, Kourtney Renea; Brewer, Holly; History; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)ABSTRACT Title of Thesis: CHAOS AND CONSPIRACY: THE HAGERSTOWN DRAFT RIOTS AND THE WHISKEY REBELLION Kourtney Renea Lowery, Master of Arts, 2024 Thesis Directed By: Professor Holly Brewer, Department of History This thesis explores the events of Washington County, MD in September 1794 to re-establish the significance of the Hagerstown Riots and their connection to the Whiskey Rebellion in Pittsburgh as well as to broader revolutionary ideals. The riots were a localized event in which the militia openly disobeyed orders. Citizens soldiers used militarized force to display their opposition to the excise tax and militia draft. Residents and many local leaders also opposed these measures and favored a progressive political and economic system. The Hagerstown Riots are an important microhistory and look at early American rebellion, protestors, and redress of grievances. The protestors at the Hagerstown Riots were angry with the excise tax and economic and political policies that the federal government created policies that were antiquated and unfairly administered. Hamilton’s taxation scheme was modeled on a British taxation system which colonials had fought against. They viewed these policies as created by elites in the federal government. State governments and officials, meanwhile were becoming more egalitarian in places like Maryland, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina. Washington County, Maryland showcases these frustrations and changes by retracing the dynamics of the rioters, officials, and militia. It also seeks to resolve why this event has been forgotten. The riots decenter the Whiskey Rebellion from an isolated large uprising in Pennsylvania to a broad movement that includes local events such as the Hagerstown riots, and that started before the American Revolution.Item "Scandalous Conduct Tending to the Destruction of Good Morals": Dynamics and Tension in Sex Crime Courts-martial in the Interwar U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, 1919-1941(2024) Forschler, Andrew Cavin; Lyons, Clare; History; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Interwar (1919-1941) U.S. Navy and Marine Corps sex crime courts-martial had complex dynamics and tension. Written policy criminalized most sex. When policy was enforced, it mostly targeted same-sex crimes. Enlisted men held different beliefs about sex than commissioned officers. Enlisted men’s lived experience was incongruent with policy. Leadership believed that men who had sex with other men should be expelled from the Navy and Marine Corps. Duty was a powerful and frequently used rhetorical tool by judge advocates to argue for conviction for sex crime. The Navy Medical Corps expressed the idea that same-sex sexual activity should not be criminalized as same-sex desire was a mental defect. The dynamics of written policy/policy in action, enlisted men/commissioned officers, and naval service/duty/sexology are explored.Item THE “UNEQUAL WRONGS AMENDMENT”: STATE COURT INTERPRETATIONS OF THE MARYLAND EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT(2024) Justement, Shelly; Muncy, Robyn; History; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This thesis answers the question: How did Maryland state courts’ interpretations of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) affect the amendment’s meaning? This thesis explores state courts’ interpretations of the amendment in seven cases involving child support, spousal abandonment, abortion, rape, women’s access to exclusively male clubs, and gay marriage between the years of 1972 and 2006. The state courts’ decisions regarding the Maryland ERA promoted legal equality without providing equity between men and women or heterosexual and homosexual couples. The state courts often interpreted the ERA in narrow ways that did not always benefit women’s rights, and indeed, this thesis demonstrates that the courts’ rulings in ERA cases did not produce material equality between men and women or queer and straight couples. The courts’ narrow interpretations of the ERA were reflected by the fact that the judges interpreted the words of the amendment literally without consideration of Marylanders’ socioeconomic realities; the judges limited the reach of the ERA to state actions, not the actions of private individuals or organizations; and the judges limited the application of the ERA to cases in which men and women were treated as separate classes. In examining the consistently narrow nature of the judicial interpretations of the ERA, this thesis acknowledges the limitations of the ERA for women’s as well as gay and lesbian rights in Maryland. While benefits to men did not inherently mean that the courts took rights away from women, the courts’ interpretations of the ERA ended up limiting women’s equity with men more often than promoting it.