University of Denver Digital Commons @ DU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 6-1-2013 Constructing Heroic Ideologies: Mao and Reagan Alexander A. Bowe University of Denver Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd Part of the Comparative Politics Commons Recommended Citation Bowe, Alexander A., "Constructing Heroic Ideologies: Mao and Reagan" (2013). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 80. https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/80 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at Digital Commons @ DU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ DU. For more information, please contact
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[email protected]. CONSTRUCTING HEROIC IDEOLOGIES: MAO AND REAGAN __________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Josef Korbel School of International Studies University of Denver __________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts __________ by Alexander A. Bowe June 2013 Advisor: Jack Donnelly ©Copyright by Alexander A. Bowe 2013 All Rights Reserved “A True Dragon and Son of Heaven has appeared in Yan'an; he's liberated Beijing and now sits on the Imperial Throne.” – Lao She, Fang Zhenzhu “Grown men don’t tend to worship other grown men—unless, of course, they happen to be professional Republicans, in which case no bow is too deep, and no praise too fawning, for the 40th president of the United States: Saint Ronald Reagan.” –Andrew Romano, “What Would Reagan Really Do?” Author: Alexander A. Bowe Title: CONSTRUCTING HEROIC IDEOLOGIES: MAO AND REAGAN Advisor: Jack Donnelly Degree Date: June 2013 Abstract The political hero cult of Mao Zedong is archetypal in terms of the development of a modern cult of personality.