The creation of a wide array of international institutions has resulted in a diverse set of theories dedicated to explaining their development. Two theories in particular —neoliberal institutionalism and world culture theory — provide contrasting explanations for the emergence of these institutions. Neoliberal institutionalism is actor-centered, stressing the need for coordination and control to achieve a material interest-based social optimum. World culture theory takes into account a larger world culture that assigns agency to a wider variety of actors and a norm of institutional creation. This essay seeks to navigate the applicability of these two theories by examining the institutional category of international courts. The purpose of this essay is not to prove one theory’s applicability over the other, but rather to argue for the need for inclusion of a culture-centered approach in the analysis of newer and future international courts.

To illustrate this point, this essay identifies two distinct trends in the creation of international courts: trends in functionality and jurisdiction. The original function of courts has changed from strictly resolving disputes between states to include the enforcement of different types of international law. The jurisdiction of international courts has shifted in three areas: personal, subject matter, and membership jurisdiction. International courts now issue binding judgments that apply to actors other than states, interpret a more expansive selection of international law treaties and custom, and include more compulsory aspects for state membership in their founding documents. These trends are then used as a platform for application and analysis of both neoliberal institutionalism and world culture theory. The establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2002 represents the latest forms of expanded functions and jurisdiction and is used as an in-depth case study. Specific aspects of the ICC’s negotiation process, such as the prominent use of moral discourse on the part of all actors and the significant and effective role played by non-state actors, holds unique implications for theoretical analysis. These two factors, in particular, illustrate a need to consider culture-based explanations for the ICC’s establishment in addition to traditional actor-centered theories.

What is known about the lives, and especially the private lives, of English women in the early modern era is not at all satisfactory in terms of sources, scope, or understanding. Because the act of writing and reading was already exclusive to the upper classes, what sources do survive are not representative of the majority of the female population, leading to more speculation on behalf of historians. The sources which do survive, by and large focus on the role of religion and spirituality in a woman's life, since it was the most acceptable reason for an early modern woman to be writing about. However, I hoped to prove how women were interested in more than just self-improvement through religious devotion, thereby demonstrating that early modern English women were as complex and rich in personality and interests as a modern woman might consider herself to be. After a brief introduction and explanation of the research process, this project then begins to individually analyze the three women who were chosen for study based on their mutual practice of keeping a diary during their lives in early modern England. These women were Elizabeth Freke, Lady Sarah Cowper, and Mary, Countess Cowper, all of whom operated within the feminine social hierarchy during this period, but each of whom demonstrated a particular interest beyond that of marriage and family, including economics, religion, and politics. I believe that each woman analyzed proved how unique and varied the lives of early modern English women were through their writings.

Queen Margaret of Anjou has been vilified throughout history and was even defamed by Shakespeare as a "she-wolf" in his history of Henry VI part III. This revisionist biographical study begins by redefining a "she-wolf's" connote from that of rapacious predator to a protector as seen in original myth for Rome's foundation. By studying her childhood and reign it analyzes her identity as a "she-wolf" and regent sovereign on behalf of her mentally ill husband, Henry VI and their young son, Edward of Westminster. Contrary to previous historiography, this analysis emphasizes how Margaret was apprenticed by the she-wolves of her grandmother and mother during their regent sovereignty in the absence of a husband or son. It then continues to analyze events such as her intercessory role in the Jack Cade's Rebellion of 1450, her eighty-two letters and other forms of de facto rule that Margaret implemented. Despite her imminent loss in a hyper-masculinized, political culture during the War of the Roses this accredits the successes of Margaret's tenure as queen overlooked by historians. Furthermore, this study addresses the attacks from Margaret's contemporary sources and how her historiography has evolved with the continuation of such attacks. This influence has even spilled into literature and film as the success of Game of Thrones has popularized Margaret's defamed archetype in the fictional character Cersei Lannister. The purpose of this study is to address not only the faults of Margaret's narrative, but to address the importance for historians to create women as the protagonist of their own story and not their male counterparts. This concludes then with a greater question of how to study the nature of regency in a medieval government with the concern of queens as regents.

The key to success is hard work and determination. Achieving success is always under construction. This project began as a simple analysis of the firm's progress, as at the time it was in desperate need of new clients and a marketing strategy to strengthen its visibility on campus.Through this evaluation, our team found that the firm was in an abysmal state and the previously noted problems were not the only issues of concern. From our research we found that in order for the firm to grow and become a successful student run consulting firm, there are several interorganizational issues that need to be understood and addressed. The intention of New Venture Group and the Consulting Scholars academic program is to provide students the opportunity to garner practical learning experiences. These potential opportunities are not taken full advantage of because of the afflicting problems that exist. The purpose of this thesis is to understand what problems exist within the firm and the next steps that should be taken to resolve them.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how Israel justifies its use of targeted killings. Israel's targeted killings became prominent during the Second Intifada and became an official part of Israeli counterterrorism. Shortly afterwards, in 2002, the State of Israel was sued by the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel and the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment. They asserted that Israel's policy of targeted killings was a human rights violation because Israel was not involved in an international armed conflict with Hamas. However, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the policy is legal because Israel is involved in an international armed conflict, and therefore, targeted killings can be used as a method of warfare. According to IHL, there are two paradigms that are applicable to targeted killings. The law enforcement paradigm is used during times of peace to deal with domestic threats while the hostilities paradigm is used during international and non-international armed conflicts to achieve concrete military advantages. Therefore, because the Supreme Court claims that there is an armed conflict present, the hostilities paradigm is used, and IHL is needed to interpret Israel's targeted killings. Based on the laws and the case studies of five high-ranking Hamas militants who are representative of Israel's usual targets, I found that Israel generally abides by the Israeli Supreme Court rules and IHL but often encounters problems with the proportionality requirements. This leaves the legality of the cases dependent upon the person analyzing the killings. If one argues that there is no armed conflict present, then the law enforcement paradigm must be used, in which case Israel's actions would be illegal according to human rights law. Also, a critic can argue that the value of the targets killed during the strikes is not worth the civilian collateral damage and thus claim that the strikes are illegal. Based on my research, I concluded that Israel is in an international armed conflict, and therefore, IHL is applicable, under the hostilities paradigm. I also believe that Israel can argue that the strikes that incurred collateral damage were proportional due to the military value of the targets. However, an international court must clarify the laws concerning the use of targeted killings. This is because in cases like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the legality of the strikes strongly depends upon the person interpreting the law, and therefore, there can be disagreements over which paradigm is applicable. In addition, because targeted killing is becoming a global trend, the ambiguity of the law will continue to cause problems, and so the international community will need to address this issue carefully.

Since Dylan Roof, a white supremacist, shot and killed nine members of a black church in Charleston on June 17, 2015, Confederate symbols have stood at the center of much controversy across the United States. Although the Confederate battle flag remains the most obvious example, the debate took a particular form in Tennessee, centering on the image of General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Born in 1822 to a poor family, he left school early to work. Although his work in the slave trade made him a millionaire, his later participation in the massacre of over 300 black soldiers at Fort Pillow in 1864 during the Civil War and association with the Ku Klux Klan cemented his reputation as a violent racist. Yet, many white Tennesseans praised him as a hero and memorialized him. This thesis examines Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park in Benton County and Forrest Park, now Health Sciences Park, in Memphis to examine what characteristics denote a controversial memorial. Specifically, I focus on the physical form, the location, and the demographics of the area, investigating how these components work together to give rise to controversy or acceptance of the memorial's image. Physical representations greatly impact the ideas associated with the memorial while racial demographics affect whether or not Forrest's representation as a hero speaks true to modern interpretations and opinions.

Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory proposes that the personality has three components, the id, superego, and ego. The id is concerned with pleasure and gain, the reason it is often identified as a human's animalistic side. Additionally, the id does not consider social rules as closely and is the uncensored portion of the personality. The superego is the id's opposite; the superego considers social expectations and pressures immensely, is more self-critical and moralizing. The ego mediates the id and superego, and is understood as the realistic expression of personality which considers both the "animal" and human. A Fractured Whole: A Collection of Short Stories, explores Freud's construction of human personality in both form and content. Within the collection are three sections, each with a different pair of characters. Within each section, the same scene is written in the three "modes" of the id, superego, and ego, as three separate stories. The fifteen stories comprising this collection address the substance of daily life: sexuality, body image, competition, among other topics, to consider how a single person can balance the desires for personal pleasure and to satisfy social expectations. Writing the same scene in three "modes" allows for the observation of how the characters attitudes and actions alter under the influence of different parts of their personalities.

De Plantis Aegypti is a medical botany text from 1592, written by Prospero Alpini in Latin. In this text, Alpini details a variety of plants native and grown in Egypt, how they are grown, how they are processed, what they look like, and what if any edible and medical uses are documented. This project focused on transcribing and editing the Latin text, translating the Latin text into English, and comparing the medical claims to the modern scientific literature. This is the first translation of this text into English or any other language. Alpini also wrote two other books, which also have never been translated. The intended goal was to demonstrate that renaissance scholars understood medicine well, if not the mechanisms through which those medicines worked. After analyzing the modern scientific literature on the plants mentioned within the text, it was found that every medical use referenced in the text was either directly supported, indirectly supported, or there was no data from the literature. In other words, none of the medical uses were found to be disproved. On the other hand, quite a few of the plants actually had similar efficacies as modern pharmaceuticals. In addition to the notes on the modern science, there are also quite a few notes based on the grammar and the orthography of the text. This project is but a sampling of the plants mentioned De Plantis Aegypti, there are dozens more, which I plan on translating and doing a similar analysis on at a later date.

Two scandals, The Diamond Necklace Affair of 1784-1786 and the Westminster Elections of 1784, offer significant perspectives of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, and Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, noble women who violated the expectations of their positions as members of the French and English aristocracy. During the Diamond Necklace Affair, a countess attempted to steal a valuable necklace and used Marie as a tool, effectively ruining her reputation through association and allowing the public to criticize Marie for her past actions. Georgiana's reputation was similarly besmirched during the Westminster Elections of 1784 after she engaged openly in politics through canvassing the streets and was accused of bribing voters with kisses. Both beautiful, fashionable, vibrant women who married young, had some degree of difficulty conceiving heirs, and were accused of adultery, Marie and Georgiana are excellent examples of French and English noble women who can be analyzed side-by-side. This project focuses on perceptions of these similar women (how those close to them perceived them, how they wanted to be perceived, and finally how the public perceived them) during these controversies in order to examine the roles women were expected to play in French and English high society in the late eighteenth-century. Through memoirs, letters, verses, portraits, and political cartoons, the sources discussed become gradually more public. Within each stage of analysis, it becomes clear that these women had conflicting private and public self interests, they sought to self-fashion more socially acceptable public images, and their nobility made them subject to public criticism that reached into the private sphere. This research thus argues that noble women were exposed to exceptional notoriety which blurred the lines between the private and public spheres. Additionally, it discusses the high price noble women paid for transgressing social norms and offers an equation between noble women and immorality as a possible reason for the rise of domesticity in the nineteenth-century.

This study explores the effectiveness of citizen diplomacy and more specifically America's Unofficial Ambassadors as an international non-governmental organization focused on engaging more Americans in citizen diplomacy throughout the Muslim world. America's Unofficial Ambassadors is part of a larger trend to include citizen involvement in diplomacy through cooperation with international non-governmental organizations (NGOs). A questionnaire was created with 16 questions (see Appendix A&B) focused on measuring America's Unofficial Ambassadors effectiveness. All participants (N=33) were alumni of one of America's Unofficial Ambassadors' signature programs. They were invited via email to complete the questionnaire. Most participants were pursuing a 4-year degree or had completed a 4-year degree or more and were between the ages of 18-34. Each one of the participants' results showed that overall, America's Unofficial Ambassadors, is generally effective in conducting citizen diplomacy at a grassroots level. All participants reported making connections with locals while in country, while most participants reported that they felt a responsibility to share their experience as a volunteer with Americans upon return and felt that program required blogging and community presentations in their home communities were important parts of their experience. AUA's effectiveness as a program could be improved with better pre-departure information that included basic knowledge about Islam, as well as provide a book list that highlights important discussions in the Muslim world related to culture and practice. Further research needs to be conducted in host countries with partner sites to gain a more robust understanding of America's Unofficial Ambassadors effectiveness as a citizen diplomacy initiative and organization. Keywords: public diplomacy, citizen diplomacy, international non-governmental organizations, America's Unofficial Ambassadors, grassroots, Muslim world