History

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/handle/10012/9884

This is the collection for the University of Waterloo's Department of History.

Research outputs are organized by type (eg. Master Thesis, Article, Conference Paper).

Waterloo faculty, students, and staff can contact us or visit the UWSpace guide to learn more about depositing their research.

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Now showing 1 - 12 of 12

'The Best Covered War in History': Intimate Perspectives from the Battlefields of Iraq
(University of Waterloo, 2017-09-28) mclaughlin, andrew; Hunt, Andrew
This study examines combat operations from the 2003 invasion of Iraq from the “ground up.” It utilizes unique first-person accounts that offer insights into the realities of modern warfare which include effects on soldiers, the local population, and journalists who were tasked with reporting on the action. It affirms the value of media embedding to the historian, as hundreds of journalists witnessed major combat operations firsthand. This line of argument stands in stark contrast to other academic assessments of the embedding program, which have criticized it by claiming media bias and military censorship. Here, an examination of the cultural and social dynamics of an army at war provides agency to soldiers, combat reporters, and innocent civilians caught in the crossfire.
The British Invasion: Finding Traction in America
(University of Waterloo, 2018-09-05) Vona, Piacentino; Hunt, Andrew
As a period of American History, the 1960s has provided historians and academics with a wealth of material for research and scholarship. Presidents John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon, the Vietnam War, the hippie era, and the Civil Rights Movement, among other topics have received thorough historical discussion and debate. Music was another key aspect in understanding the social history of the 1960s. But unlike the people and events mentioned above, historians have devoted less attention to music in the historical landscape. The British Invasion was one such key event that impacted America in the 1960s. Bands such as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Who found their way into the United States and majorly impacted American society. Using secondary sources, newspaper articles, interviews and documentaries on these bands, this thesis explores the British Invasion and its influence in the context of 1960s America. This thesis explores multiple bands that came in the initial wave. It follows these bands from 1964-1969, and argues that the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Who shared common multiple factors that allowed them to attain the traction to succeed and to maintain that success in the United States. Referred to as the Big Three throughout the thesis, these three bands managed to enjoy success on a level previously unprecedented for British bands or singers through influential managers, era-defining hits, use of television and film, master songwriters, evolution of their music, and their staying power. All these factors, combined, allowed the them to succeed in America. In contrast, not every British Invasion band was as fortunate, as Gerry and the Pacemakers, the Yardbirds, the Animals, the Zombies, and the Dave Clark Five failed to maintain success in America after their initial hit songs. Regardless, the British Invasion had a lasting impact on music in the United States and helped usher in the era of Classic Rock.
The Evolution of White Racism and its Impacts on Black Society in America Today
(University of Waterloo, 2018-09-26) Soares, Michael; Hunt, Andrew
This thesis examines the historical evolution of racial hierarchies and white racism in American society, and in particular how these ideological frameworks have impacted Black American society. By utilizing a case study approach, in order to fully identify the pervasive nature of white racial and cultural narratives and the ways they have denied Black progress and freedom, the goal is to outline how systemic incorporations of racialized stereotypes within political rhetoric and popular culture have worked to reinforce white racial hierarchies and white cultural paradigms. The three periods examined in this case study are as follows: the Post-Civil War American South, 1960's Civil Rights Era and the modern Hip Hop Generation. Misrepresentations within music, media and sports all too often resemble neo-colonial, paternalistic and racialized myths of the past. While politicians, particularly conservatives, have consistently used racialized messages to fan white fears and gain voter support with reactionary "law and order" rhetoric and by blaming minorities for American socio-economic problems. The criminalization of Blackness in American society is based on white fears, not relative crime rates. Whites, since the collapse of Reconstruction policies in the South, attempted to force Blacks back onto the plantations, railroads and iron mines of the South. Black criminality became the excuse for reinforcing racial hierarchy in American society, convict leasing replaced slavery in the South. Conservative politicians spewed forth racialized rhetoric to disenfranchise Black voters in the South, while lynching and race riots acted as violent methods to reinforce white domination and white racialized notions of Black inferiority. By the 1960s violence became a tool of the agents of the FBI to repress Black Power groups and their attempts to challenge white racial hierarchies in America. However, by the late 60s racism and outright violence became unpopular and new more subtle, more systemic forms of reinforcing racial caste systems and white supremacism in American society were needed. The impacts of deindustrialization, white flight, gerrymandering, rezoning, political marginalization and the elimination of an entire generation of Black leaders needs to be discussed for someone to fully recognize the legacy of white racism. Politicians and popular culture today have come to support racial hierarchies either intentionally or unintentionally by consistently over representing Black criminality and pushing racialized images, that in many ways came eerily similar to Jim Crow representations of Blackness. From Blaxploitation Films to Gangster Rap and Hood Films, this thesis examines how white dominant cultural representations of Black Criminality have become embedded within American popular culture and politics, and how these racialized images and narratives have conditioned American society to accept white supremacist notions of race and crime.
The Fantastical World of Playboy
(University of Waterloo, 2021-09-24) Barlow, Brooklyn Rae; Hunt, Andrew
While Playboy was published in the early Fifties its success is arguably reflected through the longevity and survival of the name and logo; as the Playboy Bunny logo and the symbol of Hugh Hefner (specifically dressed in a red robe, silk pajamas, hat and pipe) resonates and is recognized in American society today. Arguably, the success of Playboy represents the successful impact it had on American culture, norms and ways of understanding sex and sexuality. This success is rooted in Hugh Hefner’s ability to create and sell a fantastical world to his readers. Playboy was first published in the 1950s by Hugh Hefner, he dreamed of publishing a magazine that endorsed and liberated American sexuality. His publication both enhanced and coincided with the changing social norms of the 1960’s; which is commonly referred to as the sexual revolution. While Hefner carefully used the changing ideologies and trends in America during the Sixties to reinvent the single American man and woman, he also simultaneously began to establish what I argue to be the fantastical world of Playboy. On the outside, the world of Playboy appeared to both indulge men’s desires and fantasies about women while also empowering women to embrace their sexuality and liberate them from the sexual repression of the Fifties. While the world of Playboy appeared flawlessly fanciful there are ways to understand the manipulative and abusive tactics used by Hefner and his enterprise to maintain the illusion of Playboy. This thesis begins to explore and expose the nuances of Playboy magazine by analyzing the publication of Playboy magazine between 1960 and 1970 that serve to maintain male dominance and the suppression of women. I also explore other published documentation from women who worked for Playboy the during Sixties. In addition, I also interview Victoria Valentino who was both a Playboy Playmate and Bunny in the Sixties. My methodology of research works together in an attempt to provide insight into the world of Playboy that has been otherwise ignored and/or censored in a means of maintaining its fantastical illusion.
Fathers, Sons, and Hippies: Changes in American Blues in the 1960s and its Connection to the Counterculture
(University of Waterloo, 2023-09-05) Gingerich, Joel; Hunt, Andrew
This thesis examines the changing landscape of American blues music in the 1960s as well as the blues’ connection to the 1960s counterculture. This paper makes frequent use of oral histories from musicians and counterculture members. It also uses underground press publications to gauge the perceptions and opinions of the counterculture with respect to blues music. This project traces the journey of mid-century blues players from the Deep South up to northern industrial cities while arguing that commercialism and professionalism was a major part of their careers. This project then explores the younger generation of blues musicians (those born in the 1930s and early-1940s) as they developed relationships with the older generation of mid-century blues players. The younger generation, using a wide variety of influences, developed a new, energized subgenre of the blues during the 1960s. Older blues musicians in Chicago generously shared their music with younger musicians, both Black and White, while forming close, familial relationships with each other and sustaining the genre through the 1960s. Largely through the efforts of several notable blues artists, the genre became popular in White American circles. The mixed-race Paul Butterfield Blues Band largely increased the blues’ popularity with White people and the counterculture. While early-1960s White blues fans were largely members of the folk revival, valuing only acoustic Black country blues, the counterculture largely embraced the blues in all its forms by the late-1960s. Unlike the folk revivalists, the counterculture did not demand Black blues artists play folk-blues, and instead valued electric blues, albeit some problematic perceptions remained throughout the 1960s. The counterculture embraced blues music for many reasons. The genre was a basis for other popular genres like rock, it could be adapted and appropriated to fit countercultural views, and it was a method of rejecting the mainstream. The counterculture also developed a progressive blues cultural, using the blues to demonstrate solidarity with Black civil rights advocates. Blues musicians from Chicago found unprecedented popularity within the counterculture and greatly influenced countercultural musicians. Blues musicians likewise embraced the counterculture, adopting subversive lifestyles and incorporating countercultural motifs in their music by the mid-1960s. The paper concludes with a discussion of post-1960s blues, arguing against the myth that the blues stagnated and vanished since the end of the 1960s.
For the Common Man- Patrick J. Buchanan and Kevin P. Phillips: Populist Conservatives during the Ascendancy of the American Right
(University of Waterloo, 2025-01-21) Norton, Chase; Hunt, Andrew
This biographical history explores the careers of New Right conservative populists Patrick Buchanan and Kevin Phillips, tracing their shared political evolution with, and eventual divergence from, mainstream Republicanism. Placing their conservative populism in the wider political context of America’s transitions from liberalism to neoliberalism from the late 1960s to the early 1990s, both men expressed a politics that articulated the rise of the American right, and its divisions by the election of Bill Clinton. Using a myriad of published works from their literary careers, this project complicates the often-monolithic picture of conservatism’s rise in American politics. Starting with Phillips’ influential The Emerging Republican Majority (1969), both men envisioned a coming conservative electoral majority to usurp the dominance of Democratic liberalism. During the 1970s, both men thought such a majority was jeopardized in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, the resulting ideological confusion of the decade, and what they perceived as the liberal bias of the nation’s media. Unsatisfied with the expressions of American conservatism in the 1980s, Phillips became a harsh critic of Ronald Reagan’s economic policies while Buchanan felt that Republicans had not moved right enough. By contextualizing America’s shifts in the post-World War II era with the country’s longer populist history, Phillips pivoted his image of the elite from a broad collection of liberal interests to Reagan’s business Republicans. Buchanan only emboldened his attacks on liberal elites and moderate Republicans he thought threatened the white working-class. In highlighting their trajectories, this project places populism as a political force that both bound together, and revealed contradictions in, the conservative movement that gained power in the 1980s. Broadly, their divergence from mainstream Republicanism represented the breaking of Reagan’s coalition of economic and social conservatives.
"He shows signs of the Day influence": A Biographical Narrative Case Study of Heritage and Commemoration in the National Hockey League
(University of Waterloo, 2024-08-28) Jackson, Jonathon; Hunt, Andrew
Clarence “Hap” Day coached the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League from 1940 to 1950. During that time, he led his team to five Stanley Cup championships, almost always prevailing against opponents who were considered to be superior. He remains one of the most successful and influential coaches in NHL history. By any standard in the world of professional sports he would be considered a legend, yet although his team has established Legends Row, a permanent commemorative exhibit of bronze statues representing fourteen of its former members, Day was inexplicably not chosen to be part of it. This thesis is an examination of heritage and commemoration in the National Hockey League, constructed around a biographical narrative of Day. I explore his career as a player and as a coach, demonstrating that he was a dependable player who developed and successfully practised theories on how he believed the game should be played. As a coach, he achieved unprecedented success that merits proper acknowledgement and recognition of his importance to one of the NHL’s most historic franchises. Unfortunately, while commemoration is a public expression of heritage, it can be and is often manipulated because it is always someone’s specific interpretation of what happened, rather than a faithful recording of history. Whoever controls the past can therefore also control the present narrative and shape the future through their commemorative efforts, which allows them to decide what the public should know about a given topic. In the case of Hap Day, the Toronto Maple Leafs have decided that he is not worthy of further recognition. This thesis is a competing narrative that proves otherwise.
John F. Kennedy & the Ascendancy of U.S. Counterinsurgency Doctrine
(University of Waterloo, 2018-10-01) Van Koughnett, Ryan; Hunt, Andrew
The formation of a coherent counterinsurgency policy in the United States is often attributed to the administration of President John F. Kennedy. Indeed, through his own personal fascination and promotion of the subject, Kennedy infused funding and expertise into a steadily expanding counterinsurgency apparatus. However, American counterinsurgency doctrine was implanted deeply within military and intelligence institutions and government bureaucracy long before the Camelot era. American conquest by counterinsurgency has a long legacy. The Founding Fathers for Kennedy (to whom this tradition belongs) were Andrew Jackson, William Sherman, William McKinley, Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. As this study argues, periods of American expansion have always been based on principles of anti-civilian warfare. The history of the United States is one of expansion and primitive accumulation - a process facilitated by methods promoted by presidents spanning the last two centuries.
A Modern American Conservative: How Ronald Reagan Legitimized the Religious Right and Helped Reshape the American Zeitgeist
(University of Waterloo, 2021-04-15) Freure, Russ; Hunt, Andrew
The late 20th century saw the rise of three closely related phenomena: modern American conservatism, Ronald Reagan, and right-wing Christianity. This dissertation explores the ascent and convergence of these three forces, which combined to bring about a remarkable shift in the American zeitgeist during the 1980s. This transformation was characterized by a fusion of conservative religion and politics, most evident in the swift upsurge of the Religious Right, a loose coalition of religious-based political action groups, founded by fundamentalist and evangelical leaders with the assistance of conservative political activists. Over the course of Reagan’s presidency, the movement and its “moral agenda” became a significant factor in United States politics and an influential force within the Republican Party. Key to this ascendance was the role played by Reagan himself, who held a more complete interpretation of modern American conservative ideology than has been recognized. This nuanced view helped facilitate his relationship with the Religious Right. Though their understanding of the Christian religion and God was not always congruent, Reagan and evangelicals and fundamentalists shared similar values and spoke the same language regarding moral, social, and cultural expectations. Reagan and his administration publicly supported and actively worked to advance the movement’s moral agenda, fostering an environment conducive to Religious Right values. In the process he legitimized these activists and the social issues they advocated for in the public and political spheres, something that was, at least in the long term, as or more valuable than any political legislation, and in doing so reshaped the national discourse, the modern American conservative movement, and the Republican Party.
'Mr. Spiritualism' Maurice Barbanell and his Life as a Twentieth-Century Spiritualist Propagandist
(University of Waterloo, 2024-04-25) Richbell, Nicholas; Hunt, Andrew
This dissertation explores the life and career of Maurice Barbanell, British businessman, journalist, newspaper editor, medium, and long-time propagandist of Spiritualism. Spiritualism—a religion, a science, and a philosophy—is based around the belief, or knowledge, that the human soul survives death and that communications with discarnate spirits is possible. Barbanell spent sixty-one years sharing the wisdom and teachings of his spirit guide, Silver Birch. Born into a Jewish/Atheist family, Barbanell was scornful of Spiritualism until he attended his first séances in his late teenage years, and it was during his second séance that Silver Birch began communicating through him. This dissertation follows Maurice Barbanell from his humble beginnings in east London, to meeting his spirit guide for the first time, and the medium’s involvement with a group of séance sitters known as the ‘Hannen Swaffer home circle’. Barbanell’s impact on Spiritualism is discussed in relation to lectures he gave about Spiritualism across the United Kingdom as well as the leading spiritualist newspaper he founded. The movement has long endured criticisms and accusations of fraudulent mediumship and Maurice Barbanell’s many legal cases are explored in this dissertation, as he defended the religion he fervently supported. Further, Barbanell’s rapid rise as a Spiritualist leader came as people turned away from organized religion towards Spiritualism after the First World War, and this dissertation will continue to study the medium’s endeavors during and after the Second World War, a lesser studied period of Spiritualism. This dissertation studies in detail, for the first time, the contributions one man made to a movement that has ebbed and flowed in popularity, leading to him being called ‘Mr. Spiritualism’. Leading figures of Spiritualism came before him; however, this dissertation will argue that Maurice Barbanell was well-deserving of the moniker ‘Mr. Spiritualism’ as this dissertation clearly demonstrates his unwavering support and defense of Spiritualism.
Replacing Sound Assumptions: Rediscovered Narratives of Post War Northern British Columbia
(University of Waterloo, 2017-10-23) Atkinson, Maureen; Coates, Kenneth; Hunt, Andrew
Through a close analysis of a regional public radio archive, this dissertation reveals how residents of northern British Columbia defined their identities, expressed discontent, and revealed their aspirations and expectations for Canadian society. No matter what age, gender, or ethnic affiliation, the people of the region, when studied in a historical framework, challenge and alter previously held historical assumptions about a remote, isolated place, about the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a national cultural institution, and about the wider Canadian society during the three decades after the Second World War. The dissertation addresses shifting historical methodologies. It moves away from text-based interpretations of the past to listen closely to the recordings created by the CBC radio station in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, in order to gain further precision as to regional narratives and historical time frames. By doing so, new historical narratives are produced that more accurately reflect both the region and Canada as a whole. This dissertation shows that Canadian identity was tied to larger goals of nation building. The CBC mandate may have promoted such nation building practices, but with mixed results on a regional level. Listening to the recorded voices of northern British Columbia residents encourages us to reconsider historical assumptions about rural regions, national cultural institutions, and the wider Canadian society in the post Second World War era. Indigenous peoples were active listeners, and used the medium of radio to communicate personal messages, political agency and cultural integrity. Women were also active on the air (even though not hired as staff announcers) and they often reflected the localized, sometimes subversive feminist activities. The region’s isolation made events there seem distant or unimportant to Canadians, especially during events such as when the Granduc avalanche highlighted the anti-American sentiments and the physical and financial risks of resource development. Although media studies and cultural critiques can assist our understanding of radio archives, historical studies may best express the significance of such events, resulting in a more complete account of the social and temporal context of this important time period.
The Soundtrack of Dissent: Analyzing the Cultural Polarization of 1960s America through Antiwar and Pro-War Protest Movements
(University of Waterloo, 2025-01-23) Trivino, Christine; Hunt, Andrew
The Vietnam War was a seminal event that perpetuated shifting notions of American culture in a period of significant societal transformation. Its influence extends far beyond the 1960s, providing a foundational context for the evolution of cultural and political discourse in subsequent decades. The cultural dimensions of the Vietnam War are frequently underexamined, despite the numerous cultural contributions that emerged in response to the conflict. Notably, music became a powerful tool for articulating dissent, shaping American society during the era, and mobilizing a generation of young people toward activism. This thesis examines the cultural conflicts in the 1960s and early 1970s, focusing particularly on their relationship to the Vietnam War. It examines both the antiwar and pro-war movements, analyzing their roles in shaping the broader cultural and ideological divisions of the era – a type of phenomenon that could properly be considered a precursor to the modern culture wars of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Through an in-depth examination of music, youth social movements, and the prevailing narratives of Vietnam War dissent, this study seeks to understand the underlying causes of these cultural tensions. It argues that the intensity of the conflict was fueled by widespread misunderstandings, mutual hostilities, and the era’s increasing openness to new social and political ideas. Understanding these factors is essential for comprehending the broader historical and ideological shifts of the era.

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