Ben Kiernan

Abstract: For thirty years Ben Kiernan has been deeply involved in the study of genocide and crimes against humanity. He has played a key role in unearthing confidential documentation of the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge. His writings have transformed our understanding not only of twentieth-century Cambodia but also of the historical phenomenon of genocide. This new book--the first global history of genocide and extermination from ancient times--is among his most important achievements. Kiernan examines outbreaks of mass violence from the classical era to the present, focusing on worldwide colonial exterminations and twentieth-century case studies including the Armenian genocide, the Nazi Holocaust, Stalin's mass murders, and the Cambodian and Rwandan genocides. He identifies connections, patterns, and features that in nearly every case gave early warning of the catastrophe to come: racism or religious prejudice, territorial expansionism, and cults of antiquity and agrarianism. The ideologies that have motivated perpetrators of mass killings in the past persist in our new century, says Kiernan. He urges that we heed the rich historical evidence with its telltale signs for predicting and preventing future genocides.

Abstract: This dissertation uses the 1979 movie Norma Rae as an entry into the global textile and garment industry and as an example of contested cultural production. It argues that U.S. colonial experimentation with the labor of Puerto Rican needleworkers helped to propel a disaggregation of manufacturing, but an American fascination with poor white southerners led media to focus on Crystal Lee Sutton in the 1970s. In recycling the narrative of white workingclass individuals in isolated circumstances, Norma Rae elided a history of collective southern activism and contributed to the erasure of Puerto Rican women. The dissertation does not simply recover Sutton but reevaluates the context in which she labored, expanding it to the Atlantic U.S. as a whole, including Puerto Rico. The dissertation makes a vital contribution in its use of archives fragmented by colonialism and racialized labor practices. The women were interconnected, if not interchangeable, labor markets critical to how the diverse working class coalesced. The argument contradicts the dominant historical narrative of industry relocating in a direct line from the Northeast to the South to a final stage in the Global South. A detailed study of Norma Rae then shows how popular culture works to rearticulate familiar meanings and obscure such disconcerting complexities due to its own reliance on Aimee Loiselle – University of Connecticut, 2019 gendered, racialized, and colonial narratives. The dissertation argues Hollywood professionals used legal and financial contrivances to remove Sutton from the production when her insistence on the collective efforts of workers did not suit their commercial ambitions. It reveals the importance of status and capitalist mechanisms in the arena of cultural politics, especially regarding questions of who contests and shapes the visibility and meanings for “working class,” “worker,” and “American.” These contests in the business and politics of culture generated the Norma Rae icon, a representation of a white woman standing alone, with its individualist narrative and affect of inspirational defiance. Creating Norma Rae: The Erasure of Puerto Rican Needleworkers and Southern Labor Activists in a Neoliberal Icon by Aimee Loiselle B.A., Dartmouth College, 1992 M.A., University of Vermont, 1998 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History at the University of Connecticut

Abstract: ‘Godly Violence: Military Providentialism in the Puritan Atlantic World, 1636–1676’ Matthew Patrick Rowley This thesis recounts the Puritan struggle for military hegemony and the more difficult contest for an authoritative interpretation of divine communications through war. It asks a simple question: What did Puritans (‘the godly’) say God did in warfare; and how did they claim to know? I have given the term ‘military providentialism’ to the attempt to understand God’s will and agency in war; ‘godly violence’ to the conclusion that an act of killing was both just and holy. These twin themes are explored by looking at Puritan warfare against four groups: Native Americans, royalist Episcopalians, Irish Catholics and Scottish Presbyterians. A situational case study approach is used to examine complex and competing providentialisms after decisive victories. The case studies bear witness to the complicated relationship between texts, beliefs, circumstances and actions. It also evidences the immense energy and creativity that went into dynamic and richly textured beliefs about God and warfare. Five victories are examined: Mystic Massacre (1637), Battle of Naseby (1645), Siege of Drogheda (1649), Battle of Dunbar (1650) and the Great Swamp Fight (1675). This is the first comprehensive study of the providence surrounding these decisive victories. In the case of Naseby, Dunbar and Drogheda, none have given a detailed study of providentialism. Scholars have paid careful attention to the theology of the Mystic Massacre and the Great Swamp Fight. The primary contribution of the New England chapters is to compare the theology of killing Native Americans with that used against other enemies. These cross-conflict case studies facilitate many comparisons, some of which are explored in the concluding chapter. Additionally, the conclusion makes two contributions: it argues for a new understanding of the relationship between justice and holiness and for a deeper understanding of the function of Scripture and providence in conflict.

Abstract: The American West and the World provides a synthetic introduction to the transnational history of the American West. Drawing from the insights of recent scholarship, Janne Lahti recenters the history of the U.S. West in the global contexts of empires and settler colonialism, discussing exploration, expansion, migration, violence, intimacies, and ideas. Lahti examines established subfields of Western scholarship, such as borderlands studies and transnational histories of empire, as well as relatively unexplored connections between the West and geographically nonadjacent spaces. Lucid and incisive, The American West and the World firmly situates the historical West in its proper global context.

Abstract: The 20th century was a century of genocide and other great violence between groups within societies. Already at the beginning of the 21st century, there have been mass killings, civil wars, violent conflict, and terrorism. This article summarizes influences that tend to lead to intense group violence. It then considers prevention, stressing early prevention--and reconciliation as an aspect of prevention--and focusing on central principles and practices. The principles include developing positive orientations to previously devalued groups; healing from past victimization and promoting altruism born of suffering; moderating respect for authority; creating constructive ideologies; promoting understanding of the origins of violence, its impact, and avenues to prevention; promoting truth, justice, and a shared history; and raising inclusively caring, morally courageous children. Practices related to all of these are also discussed. The article stresses the role of progressive change, that is, of psychological, behavioral, and social evolution, in both extreme violence and positive relations between groups; the role of passive bystanders in the unfolding of violence; and the role of active bystandership in the prevention of violence, in the promotion of reconciliation, and in the development of harmonious societies. It emphasizes psychological processes but notes the importance of creating societal institutions. The author cites findings from both laboratory research and case studies, reviews interventions and their evaluation in Rwanda, and points to the need for further research.