College of Social Studies

The Gentleman's Speculation: Merchants, Opium, and the Birth of Capitalism in Asia

Elias Magic Rothblatt — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 09:28:33 PDT

Critiquing Open Government Data

Ross William Petchler — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 09:25:58 PDT

Quiet Corruption: Teachers Unions and Leadership in South African Township Schools

Kathlyn McClure Pattillo — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 09:11:16 PDT

Building Houses on Shifting Ground: A Story of Property from Dartmouth to Kelo

Corey Nathaniel Dethier — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 09:03:49 PDT

This paper traces a number of transformations in how property concerns have been treated by the Supreme Court. I argue that these transformations are marked, at one end, by a hard distinction between public and private property and at the other by a system in which such a dichotomy has become meaningless. To trace this breakdown, I turn to the work of Arendt (Chapter 1), whose categories I use to distinguish one mode of encountering property from another. The next three chapters display this transformation of property at various stages: at the height of the public/private distinction under the Marshall Court (Chapter 2), at the redefinition of these denominations during the Industrial Revolution (Chapter 3), and at the breakdown of categories and the rise of eminent domain (Chapter 4). Throughout, I take the work of Arendt as a common referent to show how seemingly subtle differences in focus serve to redefine what property is and what is important about it.

The Last Man and the Banality of Immortality

Nicholas Wenpin Quah — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 09:03:04 PDT

This thesis seeks to confront the question: how should we attend to a biotechnological revolution?, specifically investigating the case of human enhancement biotechnology. It does so by being exploring, critique, and then instrumentally dissecting two diametrically opposing responses to the prospect of human enhancement: the technoprogressive movement Transhumanism (pro-biotech) and the American philosopher Francis Fukuyama (anti-biotech). Then, it will use its findings to produce a more pragmatic program towards how we in the form of states and societies can deal with the reality of revolutionary biotechnological change.

United States v. Hamdan: A Screenplay

Malcolm Mark Francis Schneider — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 09:01:58 PDT

A screenplay dramatizing the 2008 military tribunal "United States v. Hamdan".

Intellectual Property Pluralism and the Promises of Commons-based Peer Production

Isabella Katrina Litke — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 08:53:10 PDT

Writing Away the Caliph: Political and Religious Legitimacy in Late Medieval Islamic Political Thought

Han Hsien Liew — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 08:52:34 PDT

Beyond The Great Firewall: A Closer Look at Online Public Discourse in the People's Republic of China

Charmaine Xinyi Chen — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 08:51:01 PDT

Untangling The Great Transformation: A Tale of Market and Society

Connor Power Larkin — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 08:42:46 PDT

The Future of Microfinance Institutions: Fostering Financial Inclusion for the Worlds Poor

Aunchisa Tapanakornvut — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 08:41:35 PDT

One Person, Three Votes; Illinois' 110-Year Experiment with Cumulative Voting

Robin Starr Tholin — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 08:38:40 PDT

Inside the Red Lines: Policies that Obstruct Local Journalism in Palestine

Miriam A. Berger — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 08:37:07 PDT

Once more a source of fresh contention: How immigration saliency leads to restrictionism

Nicolas Francois Mendoza — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 13:39:41 PDT

The Nexus of Modernization and Social Capital: A Comparative Exploration of Two Kenyan Villages

Mikako Tai — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 13:39:11 PDT

Orcs, Ore, and Opportunity Cost: The Political Economy of Online Game Worlds

Steven Andrew Heckel — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 13:37:52 PDT

Sustainable Capitalism Under Lockean Ethics

Khan Kikkawa — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 13:37:35 PDT

The Rise and Fall of the Chinese Academic Normalization Movement

Guangshuo Yang — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 13:32:56 PDT

Manipulating Modernity: the Neue Frau Votes for Hitler

Anneliese Padden Rapp — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 13:31:43 PDT

How to Recognise Different Types of Assistance From Quite a Long Way Away: The European Union, China, and African Development

Miranda Susan Becker — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 13:31:14 PDT

This thesis asks the overarching question, How are European Union (EU) development assistance policies in oil-rich African states changing in response to Chinas increasing presence on the continent? Overall, I find that China is a relevant stimulus to European policy changes, but only within certain frameworks. Indeed, I find that the greater the ideological or economic competition posed by the Chinese in a given country, the greater the chance that the EU will re-evaluate its sectoral foci and increase its conditionality emphases. Yet political considerations for power and security offer minimal explanatory power for why European development policies change in response to Chinas presence in an oil-rich African country. Europe is not attempting to outmanoeuvre China diplomatically through multilateral dialogues, nor is it attempting to maintain firm access to vital energy resources.